The Nine Shadows of Harry Potter
by eva-unit-01
Summary: During Harry's fifth year, nine of Konoha's strongest shinobi are ordered to enter Hogwarts to protect Harry. To Harry, they're just transfer students, but for them, it's a world where reality can be bent or altered. How will they adapt to such a place?
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Nine Shadows of Harry Potter

Author: eva-unit-01

Rating: M, for violence, foul language, and eventual citrus

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related trademarks belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros. Pictures. Naruto and all related trademarks belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Weekly Shonen Jump, and Viz Media LLC. The only thing that's mine is the plot. I'm not here for cash or prizes. If the above parties want me to remove the story, I'll do it. It'd break my heart, but I'll do it.

Pairings: HarryTem, ShikaIno, ShizuIruka, NaruHina, and RonHermione. Mentions of ShikaTem, KurenaiAsuma, NejiTen.

_Indicates thoughts, spells, or emphasis

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Chapter One: The Foreigner's Proposition

It was bitter, the old man thought as he sucked on the object in his mouth. In fact, it was almost overwhelmingly bitter. It was the sort of bitterness that seemed to slice your tongue with its acidity. However, seconds after that came a delightful sweetness that mellowed the sharp tang. It was like sucking on a piece of solidified lemonade. The puckering combination of flavors seized his nervous system for a brief moment, causing his shoulders to shiver in a frisson of childish delight as he looked out over the tree and fog filled panorama of Konoha, with the majority of Fire Country spreading out past the village and beyond the horizon. The early morning mist had not yet vanished, shrouding the streets below in a mild haze as the lights that illuminated the town at night began to turn off. It was currently half past six a.m. and Albus Dumbledore stood in the office of the Hokage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Dumbledore had silently apparated into the Hokage's office a half hour earlier and noticed a memorial picture of the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, hanging on the wall. This made things slightly more complicated, as the Third Hokage was the only one who knew of Dumbledore or the existence of magic and had sworn to never reveal its existence.

The aged wizard frowned, narrowing his vividly blue eyes behind his half moon spectacles, wondering how exactly to explain how he had gotten there and how best to demonstrate his abilities to prove his story without terrifying or alienating the fifth Hokage. Flashy or showy spells were out, because they usually achieved the very things he was trying to avoid. Levitation was an especially poor choice because the ability to defy the most rational of all laws, gravity, was something to be feared by all but the most liberal of Muggle minds. The venerable sorcerer's ruminations were cut short as the door swung open to reveal a rather well-endowed woman who appeared to be around thirty years old, with short blonde hair; she was wearing a low cut gray top that revealed a generous amount of cleavage and pants of the same color. She was accompanied by another woman in her mid twenties with short brown hair, wearing a blue kimono and carrying a pig in her arms. The pair stopped short at the sight of Dumbledore, clad in his midnight blue robes, replete with gold stars arranged in finely detailed patterns of constellations. Tsunade and Shizune eyed the old man in the office at first with surprise, then with stony glares. Dumbledore's expression reflected a pleasant neutrality as he extended his open hand, with two small wrapped objects in his palm. The Hokage and her assistant looked at the objects blankly before looking back to Dumbledore, who offered only two words.

"Lemon Drop?" The two women looked at each other, somewhat lost for words, before Tsunade turned back to the older man with a polite smile that betrayed nothing of the unease and ire she felt at the idea of him entering her office without raising a single alarm. She moved towards her desk, giving him a wide berth, uncertain of what he may be planning. Shizune moved silently behind Dumbledore, closing the door to the office and locking it. Sensing his offer was more than likely rejected, he withdrew the sweets and slid them back into his pocket. As he drew his hand from his pocket, Shizune moved with blindingly fast speed towards Dumbledore, pressing the tip of her kunai at his throat. Albus raised both hands submissively as he began to speak. "Do not feel alarmed. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I have come to request assistance from your village."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly as she took her seat behind her desk. She eyed the man with some apprehension, regarding his outlandish mode of dress and personal appearance. His hair was long and gray, with a beard of the same color that reached to his belt. His nose was bent, as if broken and improperly healed; but the eyes that sat behind his half moon shaped spectacles were the same sort of vivid blue as Naruto's. Deciding to set those matters aside for another time, Tsunade instead focused on the reason he was in her office.

"If that were the case, you could have just waited in line like the _fifty other people_ I usually see every day," she commented dryly with a tinge of annoyance, fixing Dumbledore with her sharp gaze as she leaned forward onto her desk, propping her chin up with her palm. The elder wizard nodded, his hands still raised, with Shizune still behind him. "Search him," Tsunade instructed, receiving a nod from Shizune as she sheathed her kunai. The younger kunoichi lightly patted Dumbledore's robes from shoulders to feet, placing the items she found on Tsunade's desk. At the end of the search, a battered pocket-watch, a brass tube with an odd button, and a long thin stick sat atop the Hokage's desk. Tsunade examined the items cautiously, turning each item over in her hands. The watch was self explanatory, and Tsunade disregarded it quickly. The tube with the button seemed to have no effect on anything at all, but she decided it might merit further scrutiny and set it aside. The stick, however, was an enigma. It seemed to serve no purpose, and yet his blue eyes seemed to follow her hand with a certain sort of wariness as she picked it up to examine it. Whatever it was, it seemed to hold special meaning to him, which meant that somehow, it was important in some way she did not yet understand. "So, a watch, a metal tube of some kind, and a stick..." Tsunade listed, looking at the items and Dumbledore with an arched eyebrow and a skeptically amused expression. "You certainly do choose some interesting travel accessories. Now, would you mind telling me what's so damn important that you had to jump in front of everyone else?" she asked, her voice skimming the very edge of politeness.

"Indeed I shall, thank you. But first, may I please be allowed to lower my arms?" the Headmaster requested politely, offering a genial smile he hoped would placate her somewhat. Tsunade regarded him with a quick up and down glance, before nodding, confident that Shizune's search would have found anything on him that was potentially lethal. The aged sorcerer sighed in relief and lowered his arms, shaking them slightly to regain circulation. "Before I begin to tell you about my request, first allow me to extend my humble condolences regarding the death of Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was once a great help to me, many years ago." At this, Tsunade's gaze grew incredulous and her tone cold.

"Apparently, you've been living in a cave these past few years. Sandaime Hokage's death is very old news. Everyone in the Elemental Countries knows of his passing by now." Dumbledore bowed respectfully before speaking once more.

"Forgive my ignorance of past events, Hokage-sama, but I do not live within the Elemental Countries. I live in a much farther place, a place impossible to reach with the technologies you and your people possess," he finished, looking at Tsunade, whose expression of skepticism had only deepened.

"I find that very difficult to believe, seeing as how there's nothing beyond the Elemental Countries. Long before you and I were born, cartographers and explorers mapped every inch of this world, circumnavigating from one side to the other and back again. All there is...is all there is." she replied, locking her eyes with his. The venerable wizard only raised his right hand, a small smile on his face. Apparently, he would have to do something showy after all to remove her doubts. He just hoped she took it better than old Hiruzen did. At least this time, they would arrive in his office at Hogwarts, rather than an RAF bomb shelter during World War II.

"And if I can prove it?" Dumbledore asked, letting the idea hang in the air as the Godaime Hokage considered the possibility, though still never moving her gaze from the old man across from her. After a few minutes, Tsunade finally nodded.

"Very well. But I warn you, if this proves to be some sort of trap or plot. I will kill you with my bare hands, and your associates will follow you swiftly into hell." she intoned menacingly,as Dumbledore nodded in acquiescence and gestured towards his wand.

"In order to do so, I will need the use of that particular item." he supplied calmly, as Tsunade looked at the object dubiously before picking it up and handing it to the oddly dressed man before her. "Excellent!" he said enthusiastically, looking around for something else to use. He spotted an empty saké bottle on the desk and picked it up, tapping it with his wand. _"Portus Universalis."_ he whispered and the bottle briefly glowed blue. The Hokage warily eyed the man's actions as he held the bottle upright in the palm of his hand. "Now, Hokage-sama, you need only touch the bottle with the tip of your finger. I warn you, however, the experience can be somewhat jarring," he finished, looking at Tsunade reassuringly. She eyed him uneasily in return, having seen the bottle glow before dimming. Also, now that she was nearly face to face with him, she noticed that he gave off a strange aura that made the fine hairs on her arm stand on end. However, being the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves meant that showing weakness in front of either friend or foe was strictly taboo. She resolutely reached out her hand and touched the bottle, instantly feeling like a hook had just grabbed her behind her navel and began to spin her around in a cyclone of color and sound.

The sensation vanished as soon as it came, and Tsunade found herself lying on her back on a cool stone floor. She winced as she tried to stand, her head ringing and spinning at the same time. A firm, but gentle arm took hold of hers and led her to a comfortable chair. She looked up to see Dumbledore's pale face looking at her with concern.

"Sit there and rest. The dizziness will pass momentarily," he cautioned gently, much to Tsunade's growing displeasure.

"Any particular reason why you didn't warn me of the side effects?" she asked with a growl in her voice, to which Dumbledore responded with another question.

"If I had, would you have agreed to accompany me?" he countered, raising an eyebrow of his own. The female Hokage glared icily at him, but inwardly conceded the point. Had he fully described the voyage, she would have declined, but submitted Shizune instead. After all, at times like these, delegation was its own reward. Her dizziness behind her, Tsunade rose to her feet and looked around the circular room. She noticed the desk first with its multitude of bizarre contraptions spread about haphazardly, one of them even seeming to emit miniscule clouds of steam every so often. She eyed them curiously, before her eye was caught by the bright red and yellow bird that flew in suddenly and landed on its perch next to the desk. She moved towards the bird, which tilted its head inquisitively at her. She had never seen a bird like this in any of her long travels, and its appearance sparked her curiosity. "His name is Fawkes," Dumbledore said, breaking her out of her reverie as she whirled around to face him. "He is a phoenix. One of the last of an increasingly rare breed," he continued, moving to gently stroke the ancient bird beneath the beak, causing it to croon happily. She watched in disbelief as he nurtured the supposedly mythical creature.

"A phoenix?" she echoed, no longer certain she was not having some sort of alcoholically induced dream. She looked around the office again and saw that a portrait high on the wall seemed to be looking at her. In fact, the longer she looked, the more certain she was. The person in the picture was dressed in a Muggle suit, had combed back black hair and a pencil thin black mustache. Also, she got the impression that the person in the picture was looking down at her, and not just due to the height. He seemed to carry an aristocratic and haughty air that was shared by the daimyo and nobles of Fire Country. It made her want to punch something. She turned back to face Dumbledore when a new, rather unpleasantly high-pitched voice pierced the silence in the room.

"I see you've returned from your excursion, Headmaster. And what is _that_ that you've brought back with you? Are you sure _it's_ had its shots?" Tsunade looked around to find the source of the voice only to find that it was coming from the picture she was looking at moments ago. Now she was certain she should have sent Shizune. She clasped her hands in front of her and summoned some of her chakra.

"Kai!" she chanted, hoping to dispel what she just hoped was an exceptional genjutsu. The person in the picture merely raised an eyebrow dubiously. The Hokage let her arms fall to the side, confronted by three options. Reality, insanity, or drunken lucid dreaming.

"Is that some sort of greeting where she's from, Dumbledore?" the picture asked, looking at the Headmaster with incredulity. "How utterly charming. At the very least, she'll keep Potter's bed warm, if nothing else." he finished in a falsely pleasant tone, looking at Tsunade's capacious bosom from his elevated vantage point. She looked at the picture in stunned silence before realizing that while she could understand Dumbledore, she could not make out anything that the picture was saying.

_"Silencio!"_Dumbledore cried, shooting a pale bluish light from the tip of his wand at the picture. "That'll be quite enough out of you for now, Phineas Nigellus," he said calmly, as Phineas slapped his hands over his throat in shock and shot a baleful glare at Dumbledore before stalking angrily out of frame. "My apologies, Hokage-sama, I should have warned you about him," he said, bowing slightly, somewhat abashed by the confrontation.

"Who was that? And why can I understand you, and not him?" she asked, looking at him intently, her arms crossed beneath her chest, enhancing her assets considerably.

"To answer your first question, the person in the picture is Phineas Nigellus Black. Many years ago, he held the same position I do now. Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He holds the remarkable reputation of being both Hogwarts' shortest tenured Headmaster, as well as being its most unpopular. Now, with regards to your second question, you can understand me because I was taught your language by Sarutobi. As for understanding anyone else, I would need to perform a spell that would enable instant translation. The spell causes some discomfort, but seeing as how I am more than likely to be the only one you'll encounter from the magical world, I see no reason for you to undergo such an experience," he finished politely.

"Thank you for that," Tsunade said, trying to hide a sigh of relief. "Now, I think it's time we got down to business. Tell me how you knew Sarutobi-sensei, where we are, and what you want from me and my people." Dumbledore nodded solemnly and led Tsunade to a high backed chair with plush red cushions in front of his desk as he sat down behind his desk.

"I met Sarutobi Hiruzen during a massive war that occurred over forty years ago. He helped me defeat a very dangerous man by the name of Gellert Grindelwald. At the end of our partnership he swore to keep magic a secret from his people, and I swore to keep the existence of his people a secret from my people. The full story of course, is far more dramatic and compelling, but I'm afraid we haven't the time," he kindly apologized before pressing on, leaning forward with his elbows on his desk. "As for the reason I require your services, there is a student in my fifth year class, named Harry Potter, who is in need of protection from an extremely dangerous Dark wizard named Voldemort. Voldemort and Harry share quite the history, which is why I feel that now, more than ever before, Voldemort will redouble his efforts to either capture or kill Harry. Also, you must understand that Voldemort does not operate alone. He has a legion of followers, known as Death Eaters, at his disposal. They are ruthless and will not hesitate to injure or kill anyone Voldemort does not consider to be of worth." Tsunade leaned back in her chair slightly, her eyes directed towards the floor as she considered his depiction of the situation.

"Do you have any suspects as to who these 'Death Eaters' may be?" she asked, glancing back up towards the man in the chair across from her.

"We do. However, those we suspect come from old Wizarding money, and are very well connected, financially and politically. Even if we were to find evidence that would result in chargeable offenses, they have enough capital to buy the verdict they want," he said, causing Tsunade to growl quietly. A corrupt government always complicated matters, and it always got worse the higher the problem spread. "Also, for that specific reason, I do not rely on the Ministry to ensure the well being of Harry and his close friends. I have my own personally selected group of agents in my own anti-Voldemort faction, The Order of the Phoenix. They're tasked with various duties that range from recruiting members for the Order, to infiltrating Voldemort's followers, to keeping watch on Harry at his home in the southern suburb of Little Whinging."

"You mentioned Harry as being part of a class. I'll assume I'm correct in stating that this is a school of some kind," Tsunade inferred, looking at Dumbledore, who nodded his assent.

"Indeed," he replied, nodding slowly. "As I previously stated in my apologies for Phineas' earlier rudeness, he acted as one of my many predecessors in the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For over one thousand years, Hogwarts has educated the youth of magical Britain in such arts as potions making, arithmancy, divination, spell casting, and flying. Our students range in age from eleven to eighteen, and are separated into four houses: Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor." Tsunade sat silently as Dumbledore explained the basics of Hogwarts, memorizing the more salient points of his spiel. "The finer details of the house system hold little bearing on our immediate discussion so I will set them aside for now," he finished, smiling politely, to which Tsunade responded with a slight bow.

"I thank you for your brevity, Dumbledore-san. My two major questions are why the Order of the Phoenix is incapable of guarding Harry at school, and what exactly, as a paying client, would you expect of the team I send here to fulfill your request?" she asked, leaning back slightly in her chair, her hands folded in front of her face, the tone of her voice becoming less inquisitive and more businesslike.

"Firstly, allow me to say that the Order has a reasonable presence amongst the faculty, and nearly none of the students know of its existence. This is primarily for their own safety. No doubt, if I informed them, many would want to join, but they would be far too young, inexperienced, and fall swiftly to Voldemort's followers. Therefore, in good conscience, I cannot ask them. As far as my request as a client, I would prefer people of the same age as Harry, who is now fifteen years of age. Their purpose would be to infiltrate the school incognito, as part of its student body and gather intelligence on the students while protecting Harry and his companions. Earlier, I mentioned the houses of Hogwarts. One house in particular, Slytherin, has the highest concentration of offspring born from Voldemort's supporters. That house should bear the highest level of scrutiny from your team. Harry, however, resides in Gryffindor House with his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Though the chance of danger from any of the other houses is remote, I would appreciate having enough of your people around to have at least two sorted into each house. It is unknown how long it will take to eliminate Voldemort, and I would appreciate having your people stay until the threat of Voldemort is removed completely. Now, my question as a client is whether or not you can fulfill my request."

Tsunade paused and frowned slightly as she ran through several ideas on how to put the team together. Many of her shinobi were currently out on other missions. Eventually, she selected six names, which possibly would not be enough people to cover all the houses. After a few more moments of deliberation, she remembered that Gaara was coming to Konoha that day for a diplomatic summit with his brother and sister. Baki was slated to be Gaara's guard for the meeting, so theoretically, Kankurou and Temari would be free. However, as professional as her people were, she could not deny the fact that teenagers were teenagers and that hormones certainly played their part in screwing things up. Ergo, Tsunade decided, that greater supervision would be needed. The only other Jounin available was Kurenai, who had gone off maternity leave several months ago, and had not had a mission since.

_"Oh well," _Tsunade thought to herself. _"Some times you test the water, some times you dive, and other times, you get thrown off a waterfall with lead weights tied to your ankles. Swim well, Kurenai-chan."_ Her team decided upon, she looked back at Dumbledore and nodded briskly.

"I can give you nine people. Eight of which are Harry's age or close to it, and the ninth is an adult to whom the others will report. Also, given the difficulty and potential duration of the mission, I can tell you that it will be very expensive...however, as you were a friend of the Third Hokage, I am somewhat inclined to offer you something of a discount. " Dumbledore smiled and nodded gratefully before Tsunade continued. "Nevertheless, I still have one final question to ask, Dumbledore-san. When would you like the mission to commence?"

"I thank you for your kindness and for agreeing to my request. With regards to your question, however, I would like your team to arrive tomorrow. They will not arrive here, but in another location of my choosing. As they will be playing the part of fifth year Hogwarts students, they will need fifth year skills. I have a man who belongs to the Order who has agreed to be their instructor. The school term starts in six weeks, and they will be training constantly. I already have passports and documents prepared that will mark your people as foreign transfer students. Now, shall we return to Konoha so you can assemble your team, and allow me to brief them?" he requested, looking into Tsunade's eyes with his blue ones. She nodded her assent as Dumbledore brought out that same saké bottle, causing a slight green tint to appear on her cheeks as she caught sight of it. "It's much easier the second time around," he said reassuringly, noticing Tsunade's unsteady expression. She grimaced at being caught and changed her expression to one of stone as she reached out to touch the bottle. Instantly, she felt that same force jerk her from behind the navel and spin her around, arriving back in her office seconds later. This time, she retained her footing, but the dizziness was still present. Shizune rushed to her aid and along with Dumbledore, eased her into the chair behind her desk. Tsunade gratefully acknowledged Shizune's assistance as the younger woman rushed to get her a glass of water. She returned seconds later with the glass, giving it to the Hokage as she grabbed a scroll and wrote a hurried letter to Gaara.

"Shizune, give this to our swiftest messenger and tell him to deliver it to none other than the Kazekage himself. Tell him it is a high priority message." Bowing, Shizune ran from the room to hand it to one of the ANBU waiting outside. In the midst of this, Dumbledore quickly conjured nine chairs like the one Tsunade had sat on in his office. After having done that, he reached into his robes and removed three rolls of parchment, sealed with scarlet wax that bore the Hogwarts seal. One detailed the basics of Hogwarts and its house system, another one provided information about Harry's closer acquaintances, including his relatives, the Dursleys, along with his friends Ron and Hermione. The final scroll was a detailed summary of Harry's life from birth to the aftermath of the Triwizard tournament and his current situation. Reaching over, he laid the scrolls on Tsunade's desk before speaking again.

"I leave these with you, until your team arrives. Once the briefing is concluded, your people can examine them at their leisure. They contain information about the school, Harry's friends and fellow students, and most importantly, Harry himself. They will need to memorize the details of each scroll, in order to successfully complete the mission. In other matters, I will be staying at the Sawaguchi family inn, three blocks away." He paused to check his watch, as he picked it up from the table, along with his Put-Outer. "The time is now...12:45 in the afternoon. I would like your team fully briefed and packed to depart by this time tomorrow. Please have your assistant inform me when your team has assembled, so we can begin this afternoon's briefing," he concluded, bowing before Disapparating with a quiet pop, just as Shizune re-entered the room.

Shizune just stared at the spot Dumbledore had vanished from, standing motionless for three whole minutes before looking back at Tsunade with an expression of disbelief on her face.

"Did he just...?" Shizune asked, letting the unfinished question just hang in the air for several seconds before Tsunade nodded, looking at her assistant with a sympathetic glance.

"Yes, he did. And the less said about it, the better," she sighed, closing her eyes in exhaustion. The past few hours had been more draining than she thought. While Tsunade was attempting to rest, Shizune finally took notice of the new furniture in the office.

"D-did we have these chairs before?" Shizune asked, suddenly leery of her surroundings.

"No, we didn't. And once again with that whole 'less said' concept," Tsunade responded with a slight growl as a headache encroached upon her self-declared intermission.

"But where did they come from? It's like they just appeared out of thin air..." Shizune whispered, mystified by the unexpected arrival of the furniture. The blonde Hokage could withstand no more interruptions to her break time and threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Oh for the love of Kami-sama!" she shouted, covering her face with her hands, causing Shizune to slink away slightly. "Today you're taking a two hour lunch! Go! Find Iruka, rip his clothes off, and screw him to the mattress! Just go...and don't mention this weirdness to anyone in Konoha, especially not me. I just need a couple of hours to regain my sanity...and I'm sorry for snapping at you. Today's just been really, really intense," she said, sighing softly. "Anyway...you're dismissed for a couple of hours. But on your way back, I need you to find Shikamaru, Hinata, Naruto, Tenten, Lee, Sakura, and Kurenai. I asked the Kazekage to loan us his brother and sister. Make sure you're back by...say, 3:30 this afternoon," Tsunade finished, closing her eyes again.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Shizune replied, bowing before heading to the office door, looking back at Tsunade with a worried glance before shutting the door. Once the door shut, Tsunade contemplated the mission she was about to send seven of her best shinobi on, and two of the Sand's best as well. An enemy of unknown capabilities and a world where the laws of physics could be either flauntingly bent or unconscionably broken. No shinobi could ever be properly trained for a mission like this. She only hoped that the ones who did survive came back whole in mind as well as body. Tsunade opened her eyes to look at the picture of her former teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Looks like we've all got our lead weights on today, Sarutobi-sensei. I wonder, when this day came to you, how well did you swim?" she asked rhetorically, as a tear fell from one eye. "How well would Dan have swam? How well will they all swim?" she asked again, closing her eyes once more.

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Author's Notes: Well, here I am again, after a long absence. I'm here to give you the best stuff I can, but that won't happen without you, so please read and review! Also, I'd also like to give much love to my beta reader, Hime Temari, who has graciously agreed to come along for the ride this time. I hope you all enjoy our joint effort.

Next Chapter: Assembly of the Guard


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Nine Shadows of Harry Potter

Author: eva-unit-01

Rating: M, for violence, foul language, and eventual citrus

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related trademarks belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros. Pictures. Naruto and all related trademarks belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Weekly Shonen Jump, and Viz Media LLC. The only thing that's mine is the plot. I'm not here for cash or prizes. If the above parties want me to remove the story, I'll do it. It'd break my heart, but I'll do it.

Pairings: HarryTem, ShikaIno, ShizuIruka, NaruHina, and RonHermione. Mentions of ShikaTem, KurenaiAsuma, NejiTen

_Indicates thoughts, spells, or emphasis

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Chapter Two: Assembly of the Guard

The late afternoon breeze ruffled the crimson hair of Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village as he dashed through the branches of the sunlit trees that lined the main path from Wind Country to Fire Country. He was flanked on the left by his older brother Kankurou, who was dressed in his typical black outfit, his hitai-ate unrolled to cover the majority of his head, and his face concealed in tan paint with red stripes. Gaara's right side was covered by his older sister Temari, clad in her short black kimono with its red sash. Her weapon of choice, a large fan decorated with three moons, lay strapped to her back and her hitai-ate was tied loosely around her neck. Gaara's former team leader, Baki, hung back to guard the rear, half of his face covered by a white cloth that draped from his forehead protector. Baki wore an outfit much like the Jounin of Konoha, except that his was in a desert beige color. In front of Gaara were three chuunin of his village, who acted as bodyguard for the much younger Kazekage on his travels. Gaara, instead of wearing his flowing Kazekage robes, opted for his traveling outfit, consisting of dark red cargo pants, an equally dark red tunic with a long, almost cape-like back, finished off by a beige vest, and a large gourd made of sand strapped to his back.

They had left Sunagakure almost three days ago and were now less than four hours away from Konoha. Ahead, one of the chuunin held his hand up, signaling for them to stop. The group halted before the chuunin signaled again, holding up a single finger, then pointing in two opposite directions, causing the group to split up and take cover. They waited in the underbrush and behind tree trunks for the arrival of the person moving swiftly towards their position. The soft sound of the person's feet propelling themselves from branch to branch grew ever louder as the group from Suna tightened their grips on their kunai and shuriken. The warm, humid forest air seemed to catch in everyone's lungs, almost as if the tension itself was squeezing the air around them. Anticipation was the worst part of this job, Kankurou thought as a drop of sweat rolled down his neck. You never knew if it was a simple junk peddler or the guy at the top of your bingo book. The footsteps grew closer, causing Gaara to further sink himself into the deep shadows on the forest floor. He looked up at the person as they passed his position, heading towards Temari and Baki. Temari quietly withdrew her fan from its sheath, moving her feet into a ready position as Baki drew his kunai simultaneously, watching the person from above. The unknown man briefly looked up and Baki caught a flash of white. Upon seeing the porcelain mask in the shape of a bear, as well as the black outfit with two ninjato swords crossed against his back, it was obvious that this particular shinobi belonged to Konoha's ANBU, Baki realized before jumping down from his spot to call out to the passing shinobi.

"ANBU of Konoha, halt!" Baki shouted, causing the ANBU to wheel around and proceed towards Baki's position. By now, the rest of the Suna party had emerged from their covered positions to stand in front of the bear-masked ANBU. The Konoha Special Ops nin now stood before Baki and bowed deeply before speaking.

"I come on behalf of the honorable Godaime Hokage-sama," he said, opening a pouch on his belt to reveal a small red scroll. "She has ordered me to deliver this scroll to none but the Kazekage of Sunagakure, Sabaku no Gaara," he finished, rising to his feet and looking at Baki, who held his hand out to take the scroll. The ANBU looked at the Kazekage's chief adviser and bowed apologetically. "Regrettably, I cannot deliver the scroll to you, Baki-san. My orders were clear and absolute. Hand the message to _none_ but the Kazekage himself. However, if the Kazekage deems you worthy of its receipt, then I shall gladly hand it over," he stated simply, looking over Baki's shoulder at Gaara, who nodded his consent. The masked shinobi nodded in return and handed the scroll to Baki before leaping back into the trees and heading back to Konoha. Baki watched him leave before handing the scroll to Gaara, watching as the former Jinchuuriki of the one-tailed Bijuu, Shukaku, cracked the seal on the scroll and unrolled it, reading quickly. His darkly-rimmed eyes narrowed slightly as he digested the contents of the letter. He sighed as he finished, setting the scroll on fire before jumping back into the trees.

"Apparently, the Hokage has need of you while I'm at the summit meeting," Gaara said in his unerringly soft tone of voice. "We must complete the rest of the journey in under two hours," he concluded, his timbre both soft and commanding at the same time. The three chuunin in front did their best to stifle their groans. At that pace, all of them would be exhausted by the time they reached the Leaf Village. Regardless, Gaara dashed off, leaving the others behind, much to Temari's and Baki's dismay. Growling audibly, Temari jumped up to follow her younger brother, followed closely by the rest of the party as the three chuunin struggled to keep up. Kankurou regained his position at Gaara's left and turned to speak to his younger sibling.

"Oi, Gaara! Mind tellin' me what's got a fire under your ass? What'd that scroll say?" he asked, a curious expression on his face. Gaara turned back to his puppet wielding brother and replied quietly.

"Only that the Hokage wishes for us to arrive as soon as possible, and that you and Temari are requested to take part in a protection mission. The scroll said little else. Also...," Gaara now turned to face Temari, once again on his right side. "This mission will also involve Nara Shikamaru, and the Hokage states that under penalty of removal from the mission, any past _unpleasantness _between Shikamaru and yourself is to be forgotten for the sake of the task at hand." Temari swiftly averted her gaze and looked straight ahead, her face a mask of neutrality, however, her fists were clenched to the point where her knuckles had begun to turn white.

"Length of the mission?" she asked curtly, keeping her eyes forward as the group moved from tree to tree. Gaara observed his sister from the corner of his eye, while Kankurou just sighed and looked away, not wanting to involve himself in this discussion. He knew why Temari reacted so badly to Shikamaru's name, and to be honest, he did not like him all that much either, considering what had happened between the chain-smoking jounin and his older sister. Gaara also understood why Temari had such a hard time dealing with Philanderer-san, as Gaara privately called him. However, to be a true professional, you had to be able to eliminate distractions like personal differences in order to successfully complete the mission.

"Both unknown and irrelevant, Temari. You are a professional, one of the strongest shinobi in Sunagakure and I know you will complete the mission flawlessly. You are also my older sister, and I have absolute faith in you and Kankurou because you are my family...and...I care deeply for the both of you," he finished quietly, a small tinge of red gracing his otherwise pale face. Kankurou grinned and reached out to ruffle Gaara's hair, causing him to lean away slightly and glare mildly at Kankurou.

"Yeah, we care about you too, bro," Kankurou said, still grinning. Temari just smiled softly at the two of them and relaxed her posture a bit, feeling more at ease with Gaara's words.

"Thanks, Gaara," she whispered, focusing her gaze a bit further ahead, making out the Hokage Monument in the distance. "I can see the Monument! We're only forty-five minutes away!" she called out to the group trailing behind them. Somewhere along the road, the chuunin, unable to keep up the pace, fell behind alongside Baki. Kankurou looked back at the winded younger shinobi and snickered at their discomfort. His older sister fixed him with a flat stare and sighed. "Quit laughing, Kankurou. Three years ago, those guys would have left you in the dust," she teased, rousing her brother's ire.

"Like hell! Even back then I'd have smoked those guys!" he shot back, jerking his thumb at the people behind him. Baki, however, was none too pleased by the gesture, or the content of the conversation, as Kankurou's voice reached his ears. Temari snorted in response, raising a slender blonde eyebrow.

"You think so? I think all the chemicals in your makeup have finally poisoned your brain," she derided playfully.

"How many times I gotta tell you; it's not makeup, it's war paint!" Kankurou shouted back, as Gaara closed his ears to the verbal exchange with a long-suffering sigh, having heard it over and over again. "And if I gotta tell you aga-" Kankurou was brutally cut off as he ran face first into an unseen branch, knocking him off his feet and down to the ground with a loud and painful crash. The assembled group stopped to look, minus Baki, who was nowhere to be seen, until the branch disappeared in a puff of smoke to reveal none other than Baki, who stood sideways on the tree, a slightly disappointed look on his face and an equally disappointed tone in his voice.

"Kankurou, what was the first thing I taught you as a shinobi?" he asked, looking down at his student from atop a branch.

"Concealment?" Kankurou responded, his voice a bit dazed from the fall. Baki sighed and jumped down next to the puppet master, helping him to his feet.

"No. The first thing I tried to teach you was humility. While it's good to have faith in your skills and in your training, you must always remember that there is always someone better than you. While you may be faster than those three chuunin, remember that I am certainly faster than you...and always will be," he amended firmly before continuing. "I can assure you, the Copy-nin of Konoha, Kakashi Hatake is far faster than I am. Now, unless there are any more challenges or pointless diversions, I suggest we move with all possible speed to Konoha," he said, looking up to Gaara, who nodded and took off again, with everyone else following close behind. Half an hour later, they stood in front of the massive wood and stone gates to Konoha. After having everyone's papers stamped, and entering the heart of the crowded market district, Gaara turned towards Temari and Kankurou before giving his next orders.

"Baki, the chuunin, and I will head towards our lodgings and check in. You two will proceed directly to the Hokage's tower and report for the briefing." He pulled a slip of paper from his vest and handed it to his flaxen-haired sister. "This is the address of our hotel. Return immediately after the briefing and inform us of the nature of the mission, as well as the names of your teammates, if any. Good luck," he finished, jumping onto the roof with the remainder of the group. The siblings did the same, speeding in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Seven hundred sixty three! Seven hundred sixty four! Seven hundred sixty five! Seven hundred sixty si-!"

"Oh for Kami's sake!" Tenten shouted as her teammate, Rock Lee reached his seven hundred and sixty sixth kick against a battered log that stood alone in the middle of her team's training ground. Lee turned to face her, sweat dripping from his face and causing his spandex to cling tightly in areas she would rather ignore. "How many times are you gonna kick that damn log?" she asked, exasperated as she leaned against a tree, trying to stay in a patch of shade that was doing a fairly poor job of shielding her from the stifling summer heat. Her own sweat was causing her sleeveless pink top to hug her curves while her hand went to mop her soaking brow.

"Seven hundred and seventy five times! Today, the burning spirit of my youth demands nothing less!" he emphatically declared, delivering Good Guy Pose #1. It had little effect on Tenten, considering that she had seen it no less than five hundred times. She just sighed and reached out to pat Lee on the shoulder.

"Well, I think I've reached my limit for today, Lee-kun. I'm heading home," She said tiredly, trudging towards her apartment. Lee just nodded and waved at her retreating form before spinning around to face the log once more with an enthusiastic look on his face and a similar exuberance in his voice.

"Prepare yourself, my oaken enemy! Today you shall know defeat at the hands of none other than the Genius of Hard Work himself, Rock Lee! Seven hundred and sixty six! Seven hundred and sixty seven! Seven hundred and sixty eight!" Tenten shook her head in slight amusement, as Lee's declaration of war against the hapless piece of lumber reached her ears.

_ "All in all, a pretty normal day,"_ she thought as she reached the centre of the village. Unfortunately for her, it was about to take a sharp turn to the left of normal and south of dignified

Lee headed back to his dojo after abusing his wood, and on the way, encountered Shizune, who for some reason, seemed a lot more relaxed than usual. She had a happy, sort of glazed look in her eye. He was somewhat caught off guard by her shift in personality. To him she always seemed a bit uptight. Still, it would be rude to not say hello, he decided, before waving at the Hokage's right hand woman, and giving his best Nice Guy smile.

"Good afternoon, Shizune-san!" he said pleasantly, receiving a wide smile and a happy wave in return. It was then that he noticed that her hair was in slight disarray, along with her kimono, revealing a generous amount of cleavage that he never knew she possessed. He blushed slightly as she returned his greeting.

"Good afternoon, Lee-kun...," she said, almost dreamily as she walked past him. A thought entered her head as she strolled along. For some reason it seemed important, and it involved Lee and some of the others. She remembered a chair that had not been there before, something about a disappearing man, and the Kazekage, and...the mission! She turned on her heel and raced back through the crowd to find Lee. "Lee!" she shouted, spotting him a few feet ahead. He heard her and turned around to find her waving for him to come over to her. He looked at her questioningly but accepted the instruction regardless, seeing as how she was of much higher rank than he. She bowed apologetically, giving Lee a better view of her cleavage and another reason to blush. "Gomen ne, Lee-san. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the Hokage has a mission for you and Tenten-san. Also, if you see Shikamaru, Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, or Kurenai, please tell them that their presence is required at the Hokage's office, as they too are part of this mission. It's of the highest urgency," she finished, bowing again before hopping onto the roof and running towards the tower in front of the Hokage Monument. His large brows arched at the abrupt delivery of the brief missive as he watched her speed away.

"Hai...Shizune-san," he responded, looking rather nonplussed by the situation before shaking himself out of his stupor and heading towards Tenten's house. The spandex clad shinobi arrived minutes later and pounded on the door. "Tenten-chan! Answer the door, we have a mission!" he shouted through the portal, to no avail. He dashed around the side of the building, jumping up to the second floor, hoping to look through a window into her hallway. Unfortunately for both him and Tenten, he landed in front of her bathroom window, where she had been undressing for a shower and now stood completely naked. Lee felt all the blood rush from his head down to his groin for a split second before his and Tenten's eyes locked. She screamed and immediately lashed out with a right hook that caught Lee's left cheek, sending him spiraling off the ledge of the building and onto the ground below.

"DAMN YOU ROCK LEE!" Tenten screamed as she pelted him with bath supplies from above, furious at his accidental peek. "How dare you try to peep on me? I'm supposed to be able to trust you!" Lee ducked to the side of the building, holding his aching cheek. He felt around the inside of his mouth with his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering the green grass with dark red. He reached into his oral cavity and pulled out a severely loosened tooth, pocketing it. Tenten whirled around the corner, hurriedly dressed again, with one of her special scrolls slung across her shoulders. Lee's eyes widened and he took off running as his kunoichi teammate bit her thumb and dragged the bloody digit across the paper, summoning a kusarigama, a chain with a lethal blade at one end and a heavy weight at the other. She whirled the weighted end over her head and swung it at Lee's legs, catching them easily before dragging him over to her. "I was saving that view for Neji-kun!" she shouted.

"I-I didn't mean to peep!" he shouted back, terrified of his teammate. "I had an important message for you!" he declared, looking up at Tenten's angry face. "I pounded on your door and no one answered, so I went up there to see if you were actually home!" Her eyes narrowed at him as she gripped the blade with her other hand.

"And what the hell was so important that you had to peep on me to deliver it?" she growled, staring him down.

"I met Shizune-san on the way home! She said we've been selected for an urgent mission along with Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Kurenai-sensei! If we meet any of them, we're supposed to inform them on our way to the Hokage's office!" he blurted out anxiously. She stared him down for a few minutes longer before sighing and letting go of the chain.

"The only reason I don't kick your ass is because after being around you for so many years, I know you're not the type to peep. Also, I know that in your own dense, determined, and..._youthful_ way, you were trying to tell me about the mission. So...you go home and shower, because to be honest, you kinda reek, and I'll meet you in an hour," she said, now even more tired than before.

"If you knew I didn't mean to peep, why did you...?" he asked, stopping mid-sentence as Tenten turned back to look at him.

"Because even if you didn't mean to peep, you still saw. And I _was_ saving that view for Neji-kun. Also, on the way back to your place, see if you can find Sakura. Your face needs some serious healing." Lee looked aghast at Tenten. "Don't you dare blame me for that, Lee-kun..."

"But the hospital is clear on the other side of the village!" he declared incredulously. Tenten turned back again to face Lee with a small, malevolent grin on her face.

"You have fifty five minutes. Haul ass," she said, as Lee groaned before jumping onto the roof and running towards the place where Sakura worked. The brown haired kunoichi chuckled slightly before heading back inside her apartment and locking the door. She finally stepped under the warm spray and sighed as the water hit her sore muscles. Her eyes closed and her forehead leaned forward, pressing against the cool tile. She smirked as she thought to herself that while she might not kick Lee's ass, she could certainly ride it for a while.

* * *

Nara Shikamaru had always been cool, and everyone knew it. Even he knew it. Laid back, self-deprecating, a fierce fighter, and an undisputed genius. But now, he figured he was literally the coolest ninja in all of Konoha, especially considering the fact that he was now submerged up to his neck in a large metal tub filled to the brim with ice water that sat upon a deck on the second floor of his house. For him, this was the best possible way to take the edge off an excruciatingly hot day like today. His spiky black ponytail was undone and hung down to the bottom of his neck, drifting aimlessly in the still water as he submerged himself up to his chin. His eyes gazed upwards at the endlessly blue skies above, though not a cloud was in the sky. He heard the sound of a sandal crunching on gravel and turned his head towards the source of the noise, catching a glimpse of Shizune heading in his direction, scanning the streets and rooftops. She saw him on the deck and changed course, landing in front of him gracefully.

"Shikamaru-san, I have an urgent message for you from the Hokage. You are to report to-" Shikamaru's upheld hand silenced her as his hand covered his eyes.

"Right, but before that...shouldn't you try to cover up a bit more?" he asked, groaning lightly. "_Even just getting the message is troublesome," _he thought to himself, as Shizune looked down before letting out a strangled cry of embarrassment. The movement of running from rooftop to rooftop had further distressed her kimono, the knot loosening to the point where the white yukata beneath had become visible, and the fact that she was not wearing the mesh armor below that was also apparent. She ducked behind a portion of the deck's wall and called out to Shikamaru.

"P-Please keep your eyes closed while I adjust myself," she requested nervously as she hurriedly undid her kimono and yukata before retying them firmly, cursing herself for leaving her mesh suit on top of Iruka's desk in his office at the Genin Academy. Sighing and taking a moment to recompose herself, she reappeared in front of Shikamaru. "As I was saying, you must report to the Hokage's office as quickly as possible for an urgent mission briefing. Also, if you run into Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, or Kurenai; you are to give them the same information I just gave you," she informed, looking away, biting her lower lip. She really did not want to be the one to tell him this, but it would not go over very well if he was just ambushed with it the minute he walked into the room. "In addition, the team consists of Tenten-san, Lee-san, Kankurou-san, and...Temari-san." Shikamaru groaned painfully and covered his face with his hands.

"Why did I get selected for this troublesome mission?" he asked crisply, glaring up at Shizune, who stared him down impassively as she replied.

"Because we don't have any Jounins left here at home, also, the Hokage trusts and respects your judgment. And, in addition, she states that if your personal history with Sabaku no Temari becomes an issue, she will recall the both of you and bust you down to Genin while sending Temari-san back to Suna to be dealt with by the Kazekage. He's loaning us his brother and sister as an act of good will. What do you think will happen if that trust is broken? You've always been one to look at the big picture. Tell me, what do you see now?" she asked before jumping back off his deck and onto the roof, speeding away. He sighed and stepped out of the tub, grabbing his towel and drying off. He re-tied his ponytail, slid on his mesh suit and threw on his vest and cargo pants. Shikamaru grabbed his pack of cigarettes and slipped one into his mouth, pausing to light it as he looked in the mirror.

_"The Big Picture, huh?" _he thought to himself, before exhaling a gray cloud of toxicity. He gazed into the mirror with a forlorn look on his face, wondering how difficult it would actually be to work with her again. Professionally, they were both excellent shinobi. Personally, he could not deny that he had fucked her over, badly. She had every right to be angry then, and every right to be just as angry now. On the other hand, the _Big Picture_ was at stake, and nobody wanted to fuck up the _Big Picture. _The consequences were just too severe. Therefore, he resolved to do his best work, and hoped that Temari would do the same. The shadow manipulating shinobi took another big drag from the cigarette and left the house, locking the door behind him.

* * *

Kurenai Yuuhi smiled and gazed happily into the deep brown eyes of her son, Mansuke, as he gurgled in equal happiness while his mother, wearing a long red sundress with a black sash, bounced him on her knee. Just six months ago he was born, and she had now slipped almost completely into 'doting mother' mode. And to be honest, she was not really missing life before motherhood. The only thing she truly missed was Asuma, and the thought of him still threatened to send her to the brink of tears whenever he crossed her mind.

A bell dinged in the kitchen and Kurenai set her son back down in his crib, causing him to cry as her warmth left him. She went to a small pot on the stove and pulled out a glass bottle, filled with milk. The black-haired, red-eyed kunoichi dripped a small amount of the white liquid on her wrist to test its heat and hissed as it scalded her slightly. A knock came to the door and Kurenai sighed, heading over to it and looking through the peephole, only to see Iruka. She was not surprised since he and Shizune were both frequent visitors, along with Anko. The Jounin opened her door and smiled at Iruka, who was wearing his standard teaching garb. He bowed slightly and returned her welcoming smile with a smile of his own.

"May I come in?" the scarred teacher asked politely before being ushered in by Kurenai.

"Of course you can, please take a seat. Hold on a moment, however, I'm in the middle of preparing Mansuke's afternoon bottle," she said, grabbing Mansuke's stained bib and fixing it around her son's neck before testing the milk again. This time, it was the right temperature, she decided, setting the bottle down again before gathering her baby in her arms, using her right hand to pick up the bottle as she walked to the couch, sitting next to Iruka as she slipped the teat of the bottle into Mansuke's mouth, causing him to suck hungrily on the nutrient rich fluid. "So, what brings you by today?" she asked pleasantly, turning to look at Naruto's earliest mentor. Suddenly, the look on Iruka's face grew uneasy and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I spent some time with Shizune earlier, and she told me about a new mission. One that involved you...," he said, looking up at her apologetically. "She said it was urgent, and that there were going to be eight others with you. Also, the time frame is...indeterminate," he finished. Kurenai's face turned wooden at the news.

"I see... And why didn't Shizune come and tell me herself?" Kurenai queried, looking back to Iruka, who had his head down, looking at the floor.

"She told me she was heading back towards the Hokage's tower, and that she'd look for you on the way. I told her I'd head for your apartment, in case you were here," he answered, looking back at her.

"Well then," she said quietly, looking at Mansuke, who was peering up at Kurenai with his sleepy brown eyes. "I suppose you and Shizune will have to care for Mansuke while I'm gone. I don't want him in a foster home, and Anko's on a mission, so that leaves you two. Also, Shizune tells me that you two have been trying to have children of your own. Consider this practice." Iruka blushed at the level of Kurenai's knowledge, and nodded.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way, with you being called up," he said softly, looking away somberly. She dismissed his apology with a small wave.

"Oh, it's alright. I know how thinly we're spread. Just because I'm not on active duty doesn't mean I'm out of the loop," she replied cordially. Kurenai slipped the empty bottle from Mansuke's mouth and lightly began patting him on the back, hoping to elicit a small burp. A few moments later, Mansuke was again in his crib as Kurenai and Iruka proceeded with packing her son's needs: diapers, toys, cleaning cloths, and the like. Kurenai slung the heavy bag over her shoulder and tucked a sheaf of her black hair behind her ear before picking Mansuke up from his crib. Iruka waited by the door as she gathered everything she needed. She looked over at Iruka before looking at the crib. "Aren't you going to take that?" she asked, nodding towards the crib. He gave a small smile and shook his head before answering.

"Don't need it," he replied quickly, receiving a soft smile from the Jounin kunoichi as she left, locking the door behind her. The pair made their way towards Iruka's and Shizune's shared apartment. Upon reaching the residence, Iruka unlocked the door and led Kurenai inside towards a small room in the back. He opened the door to reveal a newly built nursery, painted a light, sky blue with clouds on the ceiling. In the room, there was both a playpen and a crib. "Like I said, we don't need it," he repeated somewhat bashfully, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Ano, you're sort of the first to know this, aside from the Hokage, so we'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself until Shizune makes the official announcement..." Iruka choked up here, as he tried to find the way to continue. "And I'm sure you've already figured it out but...I'm gonna be a father," he said, tears of joy leaking from his eyes as he looked over at Kurenai. She immediately went over to him and gave him a congratulatory hug.

"Congratulations, Iruka. I'm sure you and Shizune will make terrific parents," she whispered, rubbing his back to reassure him as she ended the friendly embrace. She smiled warmly at Iruka and squeezed his shoulder before laying Mansuke down in the crib, covering her son with a blanket as sleep overtook him. "Well, it looks like you really will need the practice then," she said teasingly, causing Iruka to blush lightly.

"Seems like it," he replied, looking over at the boy before turning back to face Kurenai. "She's about four weeks in, and we only found out last week." The red-eyed kunoichi nodded and tapped her chin before pulling the key to her apartment from her pocket.

"I have quite a few books on pregnancy on my bookshelf. If Shizune wants to grab any of them, she's more than welcome." Iruka bowed gratefully and smiled.

"Thanks for your generosity. Hokage-sama's already decided that she'd be Shizune's primary doctor and obstetrician," he said, grinning as Kurenai let out a low chuckle.

"She was mine too. Tell Shizune she has nothing to worry about," she reassured Iruka, who let out a long breath and nodded.

"Thanks, I will," he replied before proceeding as Kurenai began to leave. "Come back around after the briefing, I'll have made arrangements for the photographer by then." Kurenai stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look back at Iruka.

"Thank you," she whispered, as a single tear precipitated at the corner of her eye. She dashed from the apartment and bounded up onto the roof, speeding towards the Hokage's office, trying with all her might not to break down at the idea of leaving her son and possibly never returning.

* * *

Yamanaka Ino was working the admissions desk at Konoha Hospital when Rock Lee landed in front of the doors and walked inside the stark white lobby. Ino leaned forward, glad to see someone she hoped would relieve the unending boredom of her day. She wore her typical purple top that exposed her bandage-covered midriff, and her purple Capri-style pants. Her pale blue eyes widened slightly as Lee came up to her desk holding his badly swollen jaw.

"What the _hell_ happened to you?" she asked, raising a thin blonde eyebrow at his disheveled appearance. Lee whimpered slightly and smiled as best he could with the side of his face throbbing beneath a dark purple bruise.

"Ish Shakura-chyan in?" he asked, his pronunciation somewhat distorted by the swollen injury. Ino nodded with a wince, gently taking him by the arm and leading him to a couch in the lobby. She sat him down with a slight hiss, as if sympathetically receiving pain signals from his nervous system. The blonde kunoichi nodded gently before speaking to Lee.

"Yeah, she's in. I think she's on the third floor today," she said, walking back to her desk and checking the duty sheet. Papers ruffled at Ino's desk for a few minutes before she turned back to Lee with a worried smile. "Yeah, she's up on three. I'll take you up there," she said, walking back over to the couch and hoisting Lee up gently, slinging his arm across the back of her neck, supporting him as they walked over to the elevator. "So," she asked, "Mind telling me what exactly happened?" she inquired sweetly, looking over at him. After all, as far as she was concerned, good gossip could never be ignored.

"Tenten," he replied quietly, holding his cheek with his free hand. "Tenten did thish to me," he finished, closing his eyes as the pain grew with every syllable.

"Tenten?" Ino echoed in disbelief, looking at Lee like he had grown an extra head. He nodded slowly, still pressing his palm to the swollen jaw. "What did you do to piss her off this badly?" she asked, still in shock that Tenten had gone this far against Lee. Okay, sometimes people got overenthusiastic during sparring sessions, and Lee certainly fit the bill in terms of wanting to display his abilities to their limit, but both he and Tenten should have been experienced enough to know when to stop if it was getting too serious. Lee blushed and turned away before speaking.

"I, uh...accshidentally peeped on her in the showersh," he said, cringing slightly, as if waiting for Ino to deck him one as well. Luckily for him, she refrained. But the disappointed look on her face that plainly said "I thought you were better than that.", spoke volumes. For Lee, who's entire nindo was basically built around the concept of youthful chivalry and the pride of hard work, Ino's implacable gaze hurt far more than Tenten's angry fist. Ino merely stood silently as she pushed the button for the elevator, staying silent until the bell pinged and the elevator doors slid open, allowing the pair inside.

"I see," was all Ino said to Lee as she reached out to brush a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. She looked away for a few seconds, pressing the button for the third floor and looking ahead stoically before she looked back at her fellow shinobi with her pale blue eyes. "And what exactly made you do this, Lee-kun?" Ino asked, tacking the honorific onto the end of his name with a dangerous sweetness. Lee noticed the shift in tone and tensed up anxiously, awaiting the worst. However, for a man of chivalry, lying is out of the question. So, despite whatever hardships or beatings may follow, he told the truth.

"I wash heading home from a training shesshion when Shizune-shan came up to me and told me about a mission for me and Tenten-shan. I went to her place to tell her about it, but she didn't anshwer when I knocked on the door. I jumped up to shee if I could shpot in her in the hallway, but inshtead I shaw her in the bathroom about to take a shower." He paused to take a long dejected sigh before continuing. "When she shaw me, she shcreamed and punched, then chyashed me downshtairs. She nearly killed me until I explained what wash going on. Then she calmed down shome and told me to come over here," he finished, sighing again.

The bell rang and the two of them stepped out of the elevator, with Ino leading him to a small examination room. She remained quiet as she processed everything he had just said. Eventually, she let out a small sigh and turned to face him as he sat on the bed in the sterile white room whose walls were lined with the usual medical implements.

"Lee...you aren't the peeping type, and I know that. But you're gonna have to apologize to Tenten, and I mean _really apologize_," she emphasized, giving him a deeply serious look. She produced a long, drawn-out pause, tapping her chin in mock thought before looking back at him with a devious smile. "You should get her flowers. A lot of them. Preferably from my family's store," she added, rubbing her hands together with glee. Lee leaned away from her slightly, suddenly apprehensive about where this conversation had suddenly turned. Still, Ino knew Tenten, and he supposed she was a good source of information, so he nodded in agreement with her suggestion.

"I-I shee. Sho you think a bouquet would be a good idea then?" the spandex-clad shinobi asked, looking at Ino with interest. She gave a sage nod, her arms crossed and her eyes closed.

"Maybe even three or four," she replied, looking back at Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast with a serious countenance.

"E-EH?" Lee shouted, shocked as Ino swiftly exited the room with a laugh, turning back to face him with a smile, her blue eyes full of mirth. She shook her head at Lee's reaction, still giggling, with tears about to fall from the corners of her eyes.

"Relax, Lee-kun," she said, "Two bouquets ought to be fine. Also, you explained the reason you peeped, and I'm sure she understands. Just...tone down the whole 'youth' thing when you apologize again and give her the flowers," she instructed before speaking again. "Sit tight, I'll send Sakura in here in a few minutes," she reassured him as she closed the door. Lee sighed and closed his eyes, already exhausted by the added stress of the day on top of his fierce training regimen. Meanwhile, outside the room, Ino ambled the halls of the third floor of Konoha Hospital searching for her friend Haruno Sakura. She eventually found her in another examination room, hidden behind a drawn curtain, speaking quietly to another patient she could not see. Ino cleared her throat and knocked on the door gently. "Sakura-chan, Lee-kun needs your help in room six. He's on his way to a mission briefing and needs to be patched up," she informed, causing the pink-haired kunoichi to sigh and stand up from the chair she was sitting on. She stretched, placing her hands on the small of her back and bending backwards slightly before turning to her hidden patient.

"I'll be back as soon as I'm done," she said quietly, closing the curtain around the bed, leaving nothing but the patient's silhouette behind as she followed Ino back out into the hall. Naturally, Sakura's best friend was curious as to the identity of the patient, but chose to remain silent, respecting the idea of doctor/patient confidentiality. The pair made their way to the room where Lee was sitting, with Ino opening the door, then shutting it as soon as Sakura walked in. As soon as Lee saw her, he immediately brightened, giving her his best smile and thumbs up pose. However, with a swollen jaw and a crusty streak of blood running from his lip to his chin, it came off as being far more pitiable than inspiring. She winced as he opened his mouth to say hello to her.

"Good afternoon, Shakura-chyan," he greeted, still smiling widely. Sakura sighed and walked over to Lee, wheeling a chair from the desk in the room to sit in front of him. She looked over his injuries and groaned audibly.

"Lee, how did this happen?" she asked, shooting him a look of deep vexation. He slumped slightly on the table and began to narrate the day's events leading up to him being in front of her at that moment. She leaned forward and pressed her palm to her forehead and growled slightly, amazed at Lee's lack of common sense. Sakura straightened up and channeled some of her healing chakra into her palm before speaking slowly to Lee. "Alright, Lee. I'm going to heal your face and take away that swelling. Just hold still," she requested, placing her hand gently to the side of his face, watching as the swelling shrunk and finally disappeared, leaving a faint red patch against his cheek. She pulled her hand back and looked at Lee, examining her work. "Alright, how does that feel?" she asked, leaning back in her chair. Lee reached up to touch his cheek, marveling at the fact that the swelling and pain had mostly abated.

"It feels amazing, Sakura-chan! Thank you so much!" he said, bowing before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the tooth Tenten had knocked free with her punch. "Can you fix this?" he asked, looking at her with hopeful expectation. The skilled kunoichi looked at the object and sighed, shaking her head and looking back at Lee.

"I'm afraid not, Lee. Teeth are like bones and have to re-grow on their own. I'm sure you remember how it was after the Chuunin exams, when Gaara crushed your arm and leg. When Tsunade healed you, she was only able to rejoin the fragments of your bones and heal the major muscular damage. The rest had to heal on its own," she explained. At Lee's crestfallen look, she reached out to squeeze his shoulder consolingly. "Hey, it's alright. It'll grow back. Just be thankful it's not one of your front teeth," she chided gently, smiling at him. It seemed to ease his mild melancholy, as he offered a small smile of his own.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan," he replied, standing up and preparing to leave before he remembered something important. "Ah! You're on this mission too! Along with Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Tenten-chan, Temari-san, Kankurou-san, and Kurenai-sensei, so if you see any of them, be sure to let them know. We meet at the Hokage's office as soon as you can!" he called out, jumping through the open window and speeding along the rooftops towards the Hokage's office. Sakura stood there flabbergasted for a few minutes before groaning at the sudden change in plans and heading to the room she had been in previously. The impossibly strong shinobi yanked back the curtain to reveal Hyuuga Hinata, who looked up at Sakura curiously.

"Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" the blue-haired, lavender-eyed heiress of the Hyuuga Clan asked her friend as she took note of Sakura's distressed expression. Sakura blinked and shook her head, sighing. It was only a mission, and nothing to get bent out of shape over, she reasoned. Tsunade's apprentice waved her hand airily and took a seat on the chair in front of Hinata.

"No, no. I'm alright," she replied, looking at Hinata with a small smile. Sakura pumped more of her healing chakra into her hand and pressed it to the side of the pale eyed Hyuuga's neck, causing a series of red marks to slowly fade away. "Lee told me I've been picked for a mission and have to head to Hokage-sama's office as soon as I can for a briefing. You and Naruto are coming too. Also…why the hell am I here healing your damn hickies?" she shouted, pulling her hand away in frustration. "First I have to deal with Lee accidentally catching a glimpse of Tenten in the shower and getting the crap kicked out of him, now it's that spiky-haired, horny best friend of mine's girlfriend's love bites! Damn it! When the hell am I gonna get a little action?" she yelled, kicking the chair aside violently. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down before turning back to Hinata with a tight smile. "S-sorry you had to see that…," Sakura apologized, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. The Hyuuga smiled and waved her off easily.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry for coming in here so frequently to ask you for help with this. It's just that Naruto can't do anything but put all his energy into everything he does…including me," she finished with a deep blush. Sakura blushed as well at the not entirely subtle innuendo, but still laughed at the apt description of her friend and teammate's inability to restrain himself from either overworking or overindulging in his favorite pastimes.

"Yeah, I know. Naruto is Naruto," she sighed shaking her head before stepping back to allow Hinata to leave. "Alright then, Hinata. You're healed, so you'd better find that idiot boyfriend of yours and head to the briefing. Oh yeah, Shikamaru, Temari, Lee, Tenten, Kankurou, and Kurenai-sensei are coming along too. They all probably know by now, so just head on over after finding Naruto. And no pit stops either!" Sakura declared, pointing a forbidding finger at Hinata who simply blushed and looked away. "I swear, if I find one more bite mark on your neck by the time you two get there, there'll be a Naruto shaped hole in the Hokage's floor that'll come out of my paycheck!" Hinata chuckled and nodded, getting off the bed and heading towards the door. Just before she left, she paused and turned back to look at Sakura.

"What if there's a mark on his neck?" she asked playfully, running from the room as Sakura hurled a glass jar full of cotton swabs at her. Sakura sank back down into the chair and sighed, covering her face with her hands, mumbling to herself.

"Everybody's getting some but me…," she whimpered.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto stood alone on the kunai training ground; the swish of his wrist, the kunai hitting the wood, and the crunch of his feet on gravel were the only sounds in the wide expanse. He slipped the thin black blade into the holder on his belt, then stood and regarded his target before bringing his arm around in a swift arc and letting the knife soar towards the wooden target, enjoying the rewarding 'thunk' it made when it hit as perfectly as it possibly could. It was a simple pleasure that Naruto enjoyed, just like ramen or being with Hinata.

A light fragrance filled the air, a warm smell of wheat and honey. He recognized that smell instantly, and whirled around to see his girlfriend, Hinata, standing atop a hill smiling at him as her hair fluttered in the mild breeze. Naruto's smile perked up as he ran up the hill to gather Hinata in his arms for a deep, lingering kiss. She returned the favor before gently placing her hand on his chest and pushing back with a smile.

"No time for that right now, Naruto-kun. We have a mission and the Hokage wants us there as soon as possible," Hinata said, causing Naruto's eyes to light up and a huge grin to form on his face.

"Yosh!" Naruto cheered, pounding his fist into his open palm before gathering up all the kunai he had used and storing them back in the holster. He slung his arm around Hinata's waist and walked the short distance back to the village with her, the evening lights now turning on in Konoha, bathing the streets in their warm, yellow glow as the golden summer moon began its arc in the eastern sky. The pair reached the Hokage's tower quickly and nodded to the two ANBU stationed outside the door. Naruto and Hinata entered the torch-lit tower, whose walls were lined with dark, polished wood that shined in the torchlight, giving off shimmering reflections of the two shinobi walking up the gently inclined spiral corridor. The pair stopped at Shizune's desk, right in front of the doors to Tsunade's office. Shizune bowed to the both of them while Tonton let out a cheerful 'oink' of recognition.

"Go ahead inside and take your seats. The briefing will begin shortly," Shizune instructed, receiving nods from both Hinata and Naruto. The large oak doors swung open and the two of them entered the office. Naruto looked around and was surprised by the size of the team on this mission. To his far left, sat Rock Lee, who upon seeing Naruto let out his brightest smile and a youthful thumbs up. To his right, sat Tenten, who seemed to be upset with Lee for some unexplained reason, as Lee would always look away in embarrassment whenever she turned in his direction. Next to her sat Shikamaru, who simply offered a lazy wave in their direction as they entered. Temari and Kankurou sat all the way to the far right of the room, much to Naruto's surprise and understanding. Surprise due to the fact that they had even agreed to a mission with Shikamaru, and understanding due to the fact that the egregious ending to their relationship was the cause of considerable strife between the two of them. Next to Shikamaru sat Naruto's teammate, Haruno Sakura. She smiled easily at Naruto and Hinata, patting the chair next to her, gesturing for Hinata to sit down, likely on the off chance she could catch a glimpse of Hinata's neck. The Hyuuga scion caught on instantly and sat down next to Sakura, pulling her hair away from her neck with a sigh, turning her head to the side and fixing Sakura with a glare that plainly said, _"Are you satisfied now?" _Sakura gave a pleased smile and nodded in response, turning her attention to Naruto, giving him a mild glare to which he responded by chuckling nervously and turning away with a light blush.

Naruto then turned his attention to the desk of the Hokage, directly in front of him. Behind it sat the Godaime Hokage herself, Tsunade, wearing her customary gray outfit, and to her right stood Kurenai Yuuhii, looking quite imposing in her standard red and black. However, to Tsunade's left stood a man he had never seen before and automatically assumed that he was the client for this particular mission. The man stood 6'1, with bright blue eyes much like his own, with long gray hair, a longer beard, and a broken, but badly healed nose. Also, it seemed he was wearing something that looked like a long, very ornate blue nightgown with stars printed on it. The man looked at him and gave him a warm smile and nod. All in all, Naruto got the sense that the man was fairly harmless, and he came off like someone's sweet old grandfather. Feeling rather nonplussed by the situation, he turned to Tsunade and said the first thing that was on his mind.

"Oi, Baa-chan! What's the mission? We supposed to escort this oji-san somewhere?" he asked, causing Tsunade to growl and cover her face with his hands.

"Gaki...do me a favor...AND SHUT THE HELL UP! I'll tell you about the mission as soon as I damn well decide to, alright?" Naruto cringed slightly in his chair as Sakura glared and shook her head at him. Tsunade sighed and got to her feet before addressing the assembled shinobi. "Alright everyone, I've called you all here to brief you on a mission of high importance. The man to my left is named Albus Dumbledore, and he is our client for this particular job," she paused and looked down at her desk pensively for a moment, tapping it with the knuckles on her closed right fist. "A lot of what you hear today will sound impossible to say the least. And if I hadn't seen what he showed me today, I would have agreed with its impossibility, so I have to ask that no matter what you hear, you keep an open mind."

* * *

Author's Notes: Zounds! Sixteen pages worth of goodness! I hope you all like it, I've spent quite some time on it making it the best it could be, with the unswerving support of my awesome beta reader Hime Temari, and you, my readers giving me the best reviews and constructive criticism I could ask for. Thank you all so very much, and be on the lookout for chapter three.

Next Chapter: A (Brief) History of Harry/The Lightforger's Work


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Nine Shadows of Harry Potter

Author: eva-unit-01

Rating: M, for violence, foul language, and eventual citrus content.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its related trademarks, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Naruto and its related trademarks, etc. belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz Media, et al. I claim right to nothing herein except for the plot.

Pairings: HarryTemari, NaruHina, ShikaIno, RonHermione, ShizuneIruka, and mentions of KurenaiAsuma, NejiTen, and ShikaTem

_Indicates certain sounds or Engurisshu pronunciations_

_Indicates thoughts or spells or emphasis

* * *

_

Chapter Three: A (Brief) History of Harry & The Accidental Intruder

Tsunade sighed and stood up from behind her vast wooden desk, looking around at the assembled shinobi from both Konoha and Suna.

"Now that we're all here, it's time to talk business. I have a mission that requires all of your talents. The man to my left is the client, who comes from a distant nation, known as England. His name is _Arubus Dumberudooru_ and he is the headmaster of a school called _Hoguwaartsu__. _He has requested the services of our village in order to protect one of his students. Apparently this student…one _Potteru_ _Harii_ is the target of a very dangerous man named _Vorudemoruto_ and his followers. Your mission is to enter the school undercover, as students in the fifth year class. While there, you will gather intelligence and protect _Potteru_-san until the threat of _Vorudemoruto_ is eliminated. Above all, you must not let _Potteru_-san know your actual identities or reveal to him that you are there to protect him. According to _Dumberudooru_-san, _Potteru_-san will not take to the information well, and may refuse to cooperate if your covers are blown," Tsunade emphasized, pausing to let what she had said sink in, receiving grave looks from every one of the junior nin. "As I said earlier, this mission will last until _Vorudemoruto_ is eliminated, so there's no telling when it will end. Perhaps years, so you'd best cancel any long-term commitments. Also, Kurenai Yuuhi will accompany you on this mission. As talented as you all are, I can't let a bunch of horny teenagers free in a country they've never been to, and a school they've never been to, full of other horny teenagers, without any supervision."

"Is Kakashi-sensei coming?" Naruto asked, looking at Tsunade. She shook her head and returned to her seat.

"I'm afraid not, Naruto-kun. I have him on other missions right now, and I can't spare anyone else. Do you have a problem working with Kurenai?" Tsunade asked, to which Naruto shook his head. "Good then," Tsunade said, before continuing. "Now you can shut up and let _Dumberudooru_-san finish the briefing," she said, nodding to the man on her left.

"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama," Dumbledore said as he moved from his position on her left to stand in front of the younger nin. "Now, if you could please ask them to stand, and to not be alarmed by my actions. I am merely giving them something that will enable them to understand the language of my home country," he said, drawing his wand from his billowing sleeve and moving to stand in front of Sakura. Though he gave off the appearance of a kindly old man, Sakura could easily sense the power radiating from his tall frame. It set her on edge a bit, and she could feel herself trembling slightly as Tsunade told them all to stand. The pink-haired kunoichi rose to her feet, looking into Dumbledore's blue eyes, noticing that they were almost the same shade as Naruto's. Before she could contemplate further, she heard Dumbledore whisper a single word in his own language. "_Translatius,_" he whispered, tapping Sakura's right ear with his wand. Sakura slapped her hand over her ear, feeling something colder than anything she'd ever felt before inside her ear. However, Dumbledore wasn't finished, and while she was holding her right ear, he repeated the spell, tapping her in the throat with the wand.

Naruto, upon seeing Sakura apparently in pain made to lunge at Dumbledore before being politely restrained by Kurenai, who moved faster than Naruto could have anticipated. He tried to struggle free, but Kurenai had an iron grip that was impossible to break. Instead of struggling, Naruto settled for shouting at Sakura, deeply concerned for his teammate, as always.

"Oi, Sakura! You alright? Oi! Sakura-chan!" Sakura waved to Naruto to get him to quiet down. Her head was ringing, but the cold was dissipating, for which she was grateful. She sank back down on the chair, shuddering slightly, her knees wobbling.

"I-I'm alright Naruto…just, just stay quiet for a while. I have a killer headache is all, but it's starting to go away." Sakura took a few deep breaths before looking back up at Dumbledore. "What did you do to me?" she asked, panting quietly. He smiled apologetically at her before answering.

"Translation spell. I'm sorry for not being able to warn you of the side effects," he said, reaching into his robes for a bar of chocolate. He broke off a piece of the bar and handed it to her. She took it with a bemused expression on her face, not understanding how candy could possibly help her. "Now everything we say in English, you'll hear in your language. And everything you try to say in your language, will come out in English," he explained, moving down the line to Kankurou, then to Temari, then Hinata, Naruto, Tenten, Shikamaru, and finally Lee. However, when Dumbledore cast the translation spell on Hinata, she quietly activated her Byakugan to see what was actually happening. Once everyone had successfully received their spell and chocolate, the man in the long blue robes, whose name they found out was actually pronounced Dumbledore, and not _Dumberudooru_, as was previously stated, began to explain the nature of his school and the predicament of Harry Potter.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself," Dumbledore said, standing in front of the cadre of shinobi in front of him, having resumed his position at Tsunade's left side. The moonlight now streamed in through the windows behind Tsunade, illuminating the room with a pale blue glow that seemed to enhance Dumbledore's other-worldliness. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I hold the position of Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As your Hokage has previously informed you, I have come to request assistance from your village in protecting a student of mine named Harry Potter. Harry is under dire threat from a very dangerous Dark wizard named Voldemort, and his band of followers, known as Death Eaters. Currently, Harry resides with his aunt, uncle, and cousin in a suburb of Surrey in the south-eastern part of England. He is also currently under surveillance by members of my own anti-Voldemort league, The Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore informed, before being cut off by Temari, who was leaning back slightly in her chair, her sharp eyes boring into Dumbledore's.

"Then why can't you have your own people enter the school and guard over Potter-san? If you've handpicked them, they ought to be enough for the job." Dumbledore nodded, as if expecting such a question.

"Indeed," he replied, looking back at Temari pleasantly. "Indeed, I do have several teachers at Hogwarts who are also members of the Order. And they do their best at all times; however, they cannot be around the students all the time. Also, as loath as I am to admit it, there are several families from a certain group of Hogwarts students whose children may be secret Voldemort supporters. But alas, I do not know if Voldemort has recruited, or has plans to recruit any of my students into his fold of Death Eaters," Dumbledore confessed as he slowly paced in front of the shinobi. "This is the primary reason for needing your services. Infiltrate the student body, and gather intelligence both on the students, and on Harry and his friends. Miss…Kurenai, I believe," he said, nodding politely at Kurenai, who returned the gesture amicably, "shall take up a teaching position at Hogwarts as a Muggle self-defense teacher. As skilled as our students may be magically, the majority of them would not be able to fight their way out of a paper bag without their wands if their lives were in danger." Tenten spoke up next, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, looking up at Dumbledore inquisitively.

"Do we get any background on Potter or why Voldemort is so interested in him?" she asked before continuing. "It'd be a lot easier to protect him if we could understand why Voldemort is so fixated on him." Dumbledore reached into his robes again, and pulled out several rolls of parchment. He unrolled the first one and laid it on Tsunade's desk, tapping it with his wand and repeating the translation spell to change it into a kanji the shinobi could all read.

"To understand the conflict between Harry and Voldemort, you must know the conflict between Voldemort and Harry's parents. Harry's parents were both members of the Order and three times successfully defended themselves against Voldemort, who is arguably the most powerful Dark wizard to have arisen in over a hundred years. One night in October, when Harry was just over a year old, Voldemort discovered the location of the Potter's home in a small village called Godric's Hollow. He entered their home, and did battle with the Potters. Harry's father, James, died as he fought Voldemort in the lower level of the house, while Harry's mother, Lily, ran upstairs to protect Harry. She begged Voldemort to kill her and spare her son. Voldemort refused her request and killed her before moving on to Harry. Voldemort moved to the crib, pointed his wand at Harry, and uttered the killing curse. However, in an unforeseen and almost thoroughly improbable turn of events, the curse rebounded off of Harry and struck Voldemort, destroying his body and tearing his soul from his corpse. The only physical reminder Harry has of that night is a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. After the death of his parents, Harry was sent to live with his non-magical relatives in Surrey. There he remained in complete ignorance of the magical world, until his eleventh birthday. Meanwhile, Voldemort's soul languished in the forests of Albania, contemplating its defeat until it secured a new vessel for its soul, a Hogwarts professor named Quirrell.

Upon returning to the magical community and beginning his Hogwarts attendance, Harry faced off against Voldemort in one form or another twice, and his accomplices at other times. All of this came to a head last year, during the final stage of an international magical competition known as the Triwizard Tournament. At the end of the final stage, there were two competitors remaining. Harry and a fellow Hogwarts student named Cedric Diggory. The two of them touched the trophy, and were taken by magic to a cemetery far from the school. There, Voldemort's accomplice, a man named Peter Pettigrew, greeted them by killing Diggory instantly and binding Harry to a grave marker. In front of the tombstone Harry was bound to, a cauldron had been set up in preparation for an ancient and dark act of magic designed to return Voldemort to life, and at the full limit of his powers. During the ritual, they drew some of Harry's blood, the bone dust of Voldemort's own father, and Pettigrew's own right hand. When the ritual was complete, Voldemort was resurrected at full power. He summoned his Death Eaters, freed Harry and forced him into a duel to the death. Miraculously, Harry escaped with Cedric's body and returned to warn us of Voldemort's return to life," Dumbledore paused, conjuring a chair for himself and sitting down with a heavy sigh before continuing.

"The full details of Harry's activities are in that scroll you're reading. The second scroll contains the profiles of his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and their families. The third scroll provides background on Hogwarts itself, its house structure, professors, faculties, and a full map. Now, as it is quite late, I believe I shall retire for the night. The journey here was quite taxing. Tomorrow, we shall leave at noon." Dumbledore tapped the other two scrolls to translate them before rising from his chair and Vanishing it, leaving no trace that it had ever been there. Finally, Dumbledore bowed and disapparated with a quiet pop of sound. Kankurou stared at the spot where Dumbledore had just been, a wide eyed look of disbelief on his face. Shikamaru gaped at the same area Kankurou was staring at, a whirlwind of confusion running amok in his mind. As far as he was concerned, magic was nothing but a stage show based on props, head games, and misdirection. But the idea that someone could wave a stick and alter the physical universe was too illogical and honestly, disconcerting. If it were true, it was certainly a frightening concept. He sighed and moved over to the scroll containing Harry's file.

_"This magic thing...is far too troublesome,"_ Shikamaru thought to himself as he began reading the scroll.

Hinata leaned against the wall, looking out the open window, towards the moon, contemplating what she had seen with her Byakugan. She had seen some vast differences between the chakra system of a typical shinobi, and the system of Dumbledore-san, and was now in the process of putting two and two together. Tenten was leaning over the first scroll, briefly perusing its contents, as were Shikamaru, Sakura, and Temari. Naruto, Lee, and Kurenai were reading the scroll about Hogwarts.

"Oi, Kankurou. You ever hear of anything called a basilisk?" Temari asked, turning to her younger brother, who snapped out of his mindless funk at the sound of her voice. He looked around for her for a second before replying.

"Huh what?" he questioned dumbly before shaking his head to clear it. "Er, yeah. I think so. I vaguely remember seeing something about basilisks in a scroll of stories from foreign lands." He tapped his fingers against his biceps with his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, yeah...now I remember. It said it was something like a huge snake. Big yellow eyes, fangs, venomous as all hell. Supposedly looking into its eyes could kill you. Beats the fuck out of me where the stories came from if everyone who ever looked at it is supposed to be dead," he said, shrugging. Temari raised an ash blond eyebrow at Kankurou's description of the beast.

"Says here he killed one in his second year at Hogwarts, when he was 12." Temari let that statement hang in the air for a few minutes before Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak before being beaten to the punch by Lee.

"To achieve such a feat at that age, Potter-san must be very youthful indeed!" Konoha's Genius of Hard Work declared exuberantly, leaping to his feet and clenching his fist while sparkling tears ran down his cheeks. Unsurprisingly, Naruto's exuberance joined the party.

"Yeah! This Potter guy sounds like he must be pretty strong!" Naruto exclaimed, a grin forming on his face, thoughts of sparring against Harry entering his mind as he pushed his way next to Tenten to read the file on Harry. Shikamaru snorted and shook his head, while Hinata smiled at her boyfriend's eagerness, and Sakura just sighed and rubbed her forehead. She loved her teammate like a brother, but sometimes he just needed to tone it down.

"He doesn't look like much," Tenten supplied, shrugging her shoulders as she looked at the uneasily smiling photo of Harry taken for the front page of the _Daily Prophet _with the other Triwizard Champions last year during the Triwizard Tournament. As the shinobi crowded around the scroll, they noticed that the people in the photo seemed to be looking at them . Fleur winked, Krum scowled, Harry just kept the uneasy smile on his face, and Cedric nodded confidently. Kankurou gave an involuntary shudder before speaking.

"Aside from the fact that the girl in the photo just winked at me..." Kankurou shuddered again, closing his eyes. "I'd have to agree with Tenten-san. Potter doesn't look all that remarkable."

"Who're we lookin' at again?" Naruto asked curiously, before Hinata spoke up.

"They're the contestants Dumbledore-san spoke about; the ones from the Triwizard Tournament." Hinata took Naruto's hand and led him to the opposite side of the table, so the two of them could read the paper right side up. "'In clockwise order: seated is Miss Fleur Delacour, from Beauxbatons Academy in France; standing to her right is Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Academy, Albania and Seeker for the Albanian National Quidditch Team; in the centre is Harry James Potter, also known as The Boy Who Lived, representing Gryffindor House for Hogwarts, plays Seeker for the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team; standing to Mr. Potter's left is Cedric Diggory, the champion of Hogwarts' own House Ravenclaw, also plays Seeker for Ravenclaw House Quidditch Team.'"

"So that's Potter-san," Temari echoed, examining the photo in greater detail. It was true, on the surface, Harry looked rather ordinary. While she looked at the photo, she wondered why Voldemort was so fixated on Harry. Was Voldemort just a stickler for unfinished business? Would he leave Harry alone now that he'd come back to life? Temari highly doubted that. Was Voldemort searching for a way to use Harry's resistance to the killing curse? Whatever it might be, she was certain that Dumbledore left more than a few questions unanswered. Also, she reckoned, if this Voldemort person wanted him as bad as Dumbledore had made it sound, Harry needed to be stronger than he looked in that photo. He needed to be pushed and challenged. Temari made the personal decision that that would be her task. After a while, Tsunade knocked on the desk to get everyone's attention. She sighed and looked at the others in the room before finally speaking.

"Normally, I'd dismiss you to prepare for the mission, but these are somewhat different circumstances than the average. When Dumbledore-san first came to me with his case, I was tempted to kick him out and dismiss him as just being a crazy old man. However, when I told him I thought he was crazy, he smiled at me and told me he expected as much, having not been shown any proof of magic. So, to rectify that, he apologized in advance and…," here she paused, as a look that spoke of apprehension, unease, and a slight glaze of nausea crossed her face, "transported me to Hogwarts via something called a Portkey. Naturally, I was much more willing to listen to him after that." Naruto 's ears perked up at the mention of the strange object and he leaned forward again excitedly, his hands planted firmly on Tsunade's desk, somewhat looming over her. It took all of the Fifth Hokage's willpower not to punch him into oblivion while Kurenai just sighed, already feeling drained by the blond jinchuuriki's antics.

"Eh? What's a portkey? What'd he use? I wanna see it!" he demanded in exuberant curiosity. Tsunade growled and lightly shoved him off her desk, causing him to land squarely on his back with a loud thud, groaning slightly from the impact.

"Naruto, I'll tell you if you promise to _Calm. Down,"_ Tsunade enunciated slowly, as if speaking to a petulant child. However, that tone came with the warning that if he didn't calm down, he was probably going to be whacked into next week. She sighed and her eyes roamed the desk until spotting the plain white sake bottle Dumbledore had used still sitting proudly in the middle of the desk. Tsunade pointed to it, and addressed the shinobi again. "That bottle is what he used as a portkey. Now, obviously it's just a plain old sake bottle," she clarified as they all gathered around her desk. Each of them eyed the bottle with interest, including Naruto, who had picked himself up off the floor, standing next to Temari who just looked up at him with an exasperated gaze, causing him to blush and shrug abashedly. "But, when Dumbledore-san changed it, he used a...magic stick...," she paused, doing her best to ignore the ludicrous nature of the statement before continuing. "to turn the bottle into a portkey. He mumbled something that sounded like _'Portus Universalis' _then had me touch the bottle, and then I was taken to the Hogwarts place he mentioned," Tsunade finished, leaning back in her chair. Naruto raised an eyebrow and reached out to touch the bottle, instantly feeling the hook behind his navel and disappearing with a shout, the bottle vanishing with him. Everyone stared at the spot in shock for several moments before Shikamaru finally spoke.

"Was that what it looked like when you disappeared?" he asked Tsunade, the tone of his voice thick with haunted disbelief and a slight tinge of fear. She remained in her chair, a vein in her forehead throbbing achingly as she responded, not even bothering to look towards the spiky-haired Jounin.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you. I was too busy experiencing it to wonder what the fuck it looked like. Also...," she continued, looking over at Hinata intently. "Must your boyfriend touch _everything_?" she growled, piercing the Hyuuga with an acidic glare. At seeing Hinata's iridescent blush, the Hokage quickly held her hand up, waving her off. "You know what? Forget it. The less I think of what the pair of you get up to, the saner I'll be." she concluded.

"Agreed," Sakura conceded, nodding her head fervently. Hinata eyed Sakura and in an uncharacteristic show of braggadocio, decided to twist the knife a bit in Sakura's side. Smirking slightly, she turned to Tsunade and spoke politely, but loud enough to be heard by Sakura.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but what you said earlier was incorrect. Naruto is the one who gets it up, I just enjoy the ride," Hinata corrected, much to the chagrin of Tsunade and her protégé, and the amusement or embarrassment of everyone else.

"I appreciate the fact that you're sticking up for him, but now's really not the time, Hinata-chan," Kurenai spoke up, fixing her pupil with a chastising look that had Hinata bowing her head in apology. Tsunade nodded her head in agreement, smiling slightly beneath her folded hands.

"Thanks, Kurenai," Tsunade acknowledged before calling Shizune loudly. Her brown haired assistant entered swiftly, coming to a stop directly in front of Shikamaru.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Shizune responded, bowing slightly and awaiting Tsunade's orders.

"Shizune, I need you to go to the Kawaguchi Inn and find Dumbledore-san. Tell him he forgot to deactivate his portkey and one of my subordinates touched it. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. Dumbledore will know what to do from there," the Hokage instructed, to which Shizune bowed and disappeared out the window.

Meanwhile, Naruto landed face first on the hard, cold marble floor of Dumbledore's office. He let out a loud sharp grunt at the impact and pulled himself off the floor, wincing as he stood. He looked around the strange room, illuminated by torches and the light of the moon. Suddenly, the tranquil stillness broke, courtesy of a loudly trilling Fawkes, who had been awoken by the sound of Naruto slamming into the floor. The Sorting Hat was soon awoken by the phoenix's loud cry and upon seeing Naruto, began to shout loudly.

"Student out of bed in the Headmaster's office! Any faculty member in the area! Student out of bed in the Headmaster's office!" Naruto blanched and took a step back, heading for the door, desperately embarrassed and determined to get out of here no matter what. By now, the portraits of the former Headmasters had awoken and were shouting as well, creating an unbearable cacophony capable of waking anyone within a mile. Even Hagrid was incapable of ignoring it and swiftly jumped from his bed in his small house near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He grabbed his immense overcoat and threw it on over his equally huge pyjamas before grabbing his pink umbrella and dashing as quickly as he could towards the castle. Upon entering the castle, Hagrid was joined by Argus Filch and Mrs. Norris. The aged caretaker limped alongside the half-giant groundskeeper, as Filch's cat went ahead of them.

"I don't know who'd have the cheek to bust into Dumbledore's office while he's on holiday, but when I catch 'em, I'll have them in the dungeon 'til Bonfire Night next year. Serve 'em right, that will...," Filch grumbled to Hagrid, angrier about being woken up than about the intruder. Hagrid, on the other hand, looked around as he walked, eyeing the corners and shadows, in case this was only a diversion, and there was someone else lurking around.

"Aye," he responded, pausing as he took a few extra seconds to consider the situation. "But ter sneak in li'e this, inter Dumbledore's office, pas' the outer wards... Ain't no witch or wizard I know capable of somethin' li'e that. Not even Death Eaters. I reckon You-Know-Who himself isn' even capable of that...," Hagrid concluded, letting the last sentence hang in the air, giving Filch a moment of pause. They arrived at the gargoyle, who was turned away from the entrance, and could be heard roaring and snarling at Naruto, who had broken open the door leading towards the spiral staircase and was now heading towards the parapet, preparing to jump from the tower. He figured he could make it if he jumped to and from each of the successively lower rooftops, using them as steps before finally arriving at the ground.

Below, Hagrid pounded on the back of the gargoyle, shouting at it.

"Oi, Stoney! Open up! Lemon Drop!" he shouted, only to receive a curt reply from the stone creature.

"Just bloody get up there! Sod Dumbledore's fool passwords and get after him! He's planning to make a jump for it!" the gargoyle shouted, causing Hagrid and Filch to dash upstairs as quickly as possible. Naruto crouched on the rail of the parapet and tried to work out his jump strategy just as Filch and Hagrid burst into the office, followed by the sharp crack of Dumbledore apparating into his office, followed again by a gout of green flames emanating from a fireplace from which an older woman with long gray hair and an extremely fierce look on her face, wearing glasses and a tartan dressing gown, emerged, pointing her wand at Naruto. Naruto whirled around to defend himself, only to be struck in the chest by a bright bolt of red energy. He slumped backwards lifelessly and fell towards the ground below. Dumbledore rushed to the railing and pointed his wand at Naruto's falling body.

_"Immobulus!" _Dumbledore shouted, causing Naruto's body to hover in midair, just thirty feet above the ground. _"Wingardium Leviosa__,__"_ he said, slowly levitating Naruto's unconscious form back up to his tower as Minerva McGonagall went about silencing the paintings and the Sorting Hat. Hagrid lit the candles and lamps that dotted Dumbledore's office while Filch stood by anxiously, wringing his hands in the hopes that he'd finally get to punish somebody properly. Dumbledore's stern expression changed to one of confusion and curiosity as he finally saw Naruto's face. Setting him down gently on one of the armchairs in his office, Dumbledore began looking for clues as to how Naruto could have gotten there. His questions were answered as soon as he saw Hagrid bending down to pick up a small white bottle. "Hagrid! Don't touch that bottle! It's a portkey…that I failed to deactivate," Dumbledore explained, as Hagrid pulled his hand back, now wary of the small piece of porcelain. Dumbledore levitated the bottle onto his desk and cancelled the portkey before turning back to his groundskeeper and caretaker. "Thank you for your assistance Rubeus, and you as well Argus. You're both dismissed for the night." Filch was stunned, wasn't the boy going to be punished somehow?

"B-But Headmaster, 'e broke into your office? Shouldn't 'e be punished or reported to authorities?" The headmaster sighed and sat down in a chair next to Naruto.

"Yes, Argus, he did enter without permission, but it was I who forgot to close the door. So if you feel you must blame someone, blame me. Now, as I've said before, you're dismissed for the night. Minerva and I can handle things from here." Filch nodded, grumbling, and left through the door Naruto had ruined in his attempt to escape. "Now that won't do at all," Dumbledore commented idly, looking at the destroyed door. He waved his hand and the pieces of wood began to fly back into place and repair themselves, the door returning to its original condition in minutes. With the portal to his office once again whole, he turned his attention to the blonde Jinchuuriki sitting unconsciously in a chair in front of his desk. Dumbledore turned his wand on Naruto and fired the Enervate spell at him, causing the young shinobi to stir in his seat and place his hand to his forehead. Naruto looked up at Dumbledore, then at McGonagall before jumping to his feet and drawing a kunai, recognizing her as the one who Stunned him. The aged Headmaster quickly stepped between them, fixing Naruto with a stern gaze of his blue eyes. "Uzumaki-san, stand down! The woman who shot you with that spell is my second-in-command, and you will treat her with the same respect you show me!" Dumbledore declared, to which Naruto looked between McGonagall and Dumbledore, before speaking.

"Then why did she do that?" Naruto asked, eying the older witch with distrust as she had not yet tucked her wand away. Dumbledore looked over at McGonagall and gestured for her to sheath her wand, which she did reluctantly, still looking over at Naruto suspiciously. Dumbledore turned back to face Naruto again before answering Naruto's question.

"She fired at you because you entered my office without permission," he replied, gesturing with his arms to indicate the oddly decorated, but still tasteful room they were in. "Though I must admit, the fault was entirely my own," he conceded with a reassuring smile before more thoroughly explaining the events at hand. "I forgot to disable the portkey when I left the Hokage's office this afternoon. When you picked it up, it took you to my office. Since you are neither a student nor an employee of Hogwarts, you set off the wards that guard it." Naruto nodded in understanding as Dumbledore continued to elaborate. "The wards act as magical burglar alarms. When you tripped them, you awoke Fawkes, the Sorting Hat, and the paintings. That in turn woke Hagrid and Filch, who you'll meet when you arrive at Hogwarts to start your mission. The wards also alerted Deputy Headmistress McGonagall and myself," he said, indicating to the forbidding looking woman standing to Naruto's right near Fawkes' perch. "Since she did not know who you are or your position as Harry's new guard while he's at school, she assumed you were an intruder and Stunned you," he finished, looking at Naruto who seemed to relax a bit now that he understood the situation more clearly. "Minerva is not a woman to be crossed, but she is fair, and very well-liked amongst most of the students," the long-bearded headmaster added, noting the way McGonagall and Naruto seemed to be sizing each other up. "If I'm not on campus, she'll be the one you, Miss Kurenai, or any other member of your team will report to." Upon hearing that, Naruto bowed respectfully to McGonagall, who responded with a polite nod of the head.

Now that the recent chaos and misunderstandings had abated, Naruto looked over to Dumbledore and spoke.

"So I guess I take that portkey back home then?" he asked, looking around for the small white bottle that had brought him there.

"Ah," Dumbledore said, straightening up. "I'm afraid I have disabled that particular portkey, so you'll have to Side-Along with me," the great wizard said, moving towards Naruto's chair. The blonde shinobi looked uneasy at this new term as he rose to his feet.

"S-Side-Along? What's that? Is it another sort weird spell?" he asked, slightly inching away. Naruto usually wasn't the type to succumb to fear, as images from his first major mission ever, the trip to Wave Country, flashed through his mind, the scar on his left hand from piercing it with his own kunai throbbing momentarily. He clenched his fists and steeled himself, inwardly cursing his doubts. Dumbledore opened his mouth to answer, but Naruto silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Y'know what, it doesn't matter. I'm just gonna have to get used to it if I'm gonna work here. I just hope your school can handle the nine of us. After all, even though we are shinobi...we can get pretty loud," Naruto finished, flashing his trademark ear to ear grin at Dumbledore, who simply smiled.

"Ah, but Uzumaki-san. I assure you, as loud as you all can be, Hogwarts has a personality all its own...," Albus replied mysteriously, taking hold of Naruto's arm before apparating back to the Hokage's office. If anything it was worse than a portkey, feeling as if he was being forced through a narrow pipe head first.

The loud crack of Apparition resounded through Tsunade's office, causing everyone to jump to their feet with their kunai drawn as Dumbledore and Naruto suddenly appeared before their eyes. While Naruto had gone, the briefing had drifted into a lull with Tsunade anxiously pacing and Hinata wringing her hands over the imagined places Naruto might have disappeared to and the condition he might be in. The remainder of the group was mostly silent, save for Sakura, who spent her time mumbling under her breath about slapping some sense into him about touching things he shouldn't. Now that he'd returned, everyone breathed easier, except for Hinata, who promptly walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face, causing his head to snap sharply to the side.

"Damn it, Naruto-kun! Do you have any idea how frightened I was?" she demanded, grabbing him by the front of his jacket and looking him fiercely in the eye. His shoulders slumped and he looked down at the floor apologetically.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to make you worry," he said softly, embracing his girlfriend gently as she buried her face in his chest and cried, pounding her fist ineffectually against his body. Tsunade sighed and ground her teeth together, dragging her fingers through her hair, as if resisting the urge to pound Naruto into paste.

"I swear to Kami-sama, Naruto, if you ever do that again...," she intoned, letting the unspoken threat hang in the air as she forced herself back down in her seat. Even though the rest of the group remained silent, Naruto could see some very harsh looks aimed at him by the rest of the women in the room. The aged sorcerer remained in the room while the drama unfolded. "In any case, thank you for returning him, Dumbledore-san," Tsunade said, bowing slightly to which Dumbledore bowed in kind.

"I assure you, it was not a problem. In fact, the blame rests far more squarely on my shoulders than Naruto's, as it was my neglecting to deactivate the portkey that led to this event," he said simply, looking quite abashed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will return to the inn and rest in preparation for tomorrow," he finished, disapparating with a loud crack.

"Well, now that Naruto's returned from his trip," Tsunade said, giving Naruto another dark glance which he shrank from. "Let's see where we were in the briefing," she said, looking around at the assembled nin.

"Portkey. Magic stick. Naruto's a jackass," Sakura summed up quickly, glaring at her blonde teammate, unexpectedly receiving a supporting nod from his girlfriend, Hinata who turned away with her nose in the air as Naruto turned to her with a betrayed look on his face.

"Agreed," declared the Hokage, ignoring Naruto's hurt expression. "So we've covered Harry's history, or what we've been allowed to know about Harry's history, portkeys,-"

"A bit more than I would have appreciated," interjected Kurenai dryly, boring into Naruto with her stern red gaze.

"Oh yes...," Tsunade agreed fervently. "Next, I wanna hear ideas about how this whole magic thing works," she said, looking at the group of shinobi.

"Well," Hinata said, looking at Tsunade as she spoke. "When Dumbledore-san performed the translation spell on me, I activated my Byakugan and tried to observe his chakra system. It's nothing like a traditional shinobi system. We have chakra coils in our lower body that function as a channel through which we combine the chakras of both animals and plants, with our body's chakra to create jutsu. For Dumbledore-san, his body has no chakra coils and his power flows through his blood. His stick is made from wood that contains high concentration of plant chakras and inside the stick is a core that produces animal chakra. He channels his body's chakra through the stick, which combines his energy with the stick's energies, enabling him to perform his jutsus," Hinata explained, looking satisfied with herself. Kurenai gave her an approving wink and Tsunade nodded behind her folded hands.

"That sounds like a relatively clear explanation, but I do want you to find out more about it when you get there," the Hokage instructed, looking at Hinata, who responded with a nod.

"I'd like to go into a bit more detail about Hogwarts itself," requested Tenten. "It'd be helpful to know as much as possible about the layout of the place where we're going to be working," she said in her most common-sense tone. Everyone murmured their assent and brought the Hogwarts scroll to the top of the pile on Tsunade's desk.

"Okay," Shikamaru said quietly, clearing his throat some. "Hogwarts was founded over 1,000 years ago by four of the greatest sorcerers in their history: Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin, who Voldemort says is his ancestor; and Godric Gryffindor. The students are broken up into four houses, each named after one of the founders. The students are sorted by means of...a talking magical hat...," Shikamaru briefly held the parchment at arm's length to make sure he had read that right, despite his excellent sight, shaking his head in incredulity. "Each house has its own virtues, and the students of each house play a point game to see who can have the most at the end of each term. Good deeds or doing well in class earns points, breaking the rules loses them," Shikamaru took a second to read silently, taking his pack of cigarettes and tapping them against the table. Though he was tempted to open it and take one out, Tsunade's stare was enough reason for him to resist temptation and resume reading. "The values of each house are as follows: Gryffindor, loyalty and courage; Slytherin, cunning and ambition; Ravenclaw, wit and intelligence; Hufflepuff, unity and hard wor-! Ah fuck that!" Shikamaru declared, tossing the parchment back to the desk and pulling a grimace. "I just had a mental image of 50 Hogwarts students wearing the 'Spandex of Youth' with bowl cuts, huge eyebrows and flashy teeth doing laps around Hogwarts on their hands," he groaned as Lee jumped to his feet.

"Surely if I gain disciples Gai-sensei will be more proud of me than ever! GAI-SENSEI! I WILL MAKE IT MY MISSION TO BRING AS MANY HOGWARTS STUDENTS INTO THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH AS POSSIBLE!" Lee declared, tears streaming from his eyes as a bright sunset burst into sight behind him, even though it was now well past midnight. All the Konoha shinobi donned sunglasses while Temari and Kankurou had nothing but their hands to shield them from the radiant glow.

"Right," Tenten said, sighing. "I can imagine all of them now...peeping on me," she finished dryly, causing Lee's sunset to fade as his head sank in shame. The group of nin lowered their hands and shades, sighing thankfully. Naruto shook his head to dispel the spots that came through before he put the shades on and then idly looked at the scroll about Harry.

"This is weird. It says that the scar on Potter's forehead hurts whenever Voldemort is nearby... Sounds kinda like Orochimaru's curse mark...," he finished quietly, but still getting everyone's attention.

"Do you think Orochimaru tried to branch out?" Kurenai asked Tsunade, looking at her intently.

"Are you asking me if Orochimaru crossed worlds and tried to select Potter as a future host body? I wouldn't put it past him to try except that we have no idea if Orochimaru knew about the magical world and if he did, if he had a means of getting there," Tsunade paused and considered the other variables. "Also, we know Orochimaru is dead, and that _Kabuto_ implanted _himself_ with Orochimaru's remains and is now a hybrid of himself and Orochimaru. If Orochimaru was capable of being resurrected like Voldemort was, he would have left instructions for Kabuto to do that. So, all things considered, I doubt Orochimaru's involved, but if he is, we need to detect that as swiftly as possible and eliminate any and all things he may have left behind. Cleaning up after Orochimaru is our job, not theirs," she instructed before finishing. "On that note, I think it's time I dismiss you all to get some sleep. Remember, departure at 12:45 tomorrow afternoon. I want you all here no later than noon exactly," the Hokage demanded. "Dismissed!" she called out, watching as the various colored blurs disappeared through her windows. However, Naruto remained behind, looking somewhat solemn. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, inwardly sighing and guessing what he wanted to speak about.

"I have a feeling you want to talk about Sasuke, right, gaki?" she assumed, receiving a nod as reply.

"I wonder, if Orochimaru is involved, does that mean I'll meet Sasuke again?" he asked, to which Tsunade merely shrugged and sighed.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Naruto-kun. I know that's just how you are, but this is different. We don't even know if Orochimaru's involved, and if he is, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But in all honesty, this doesn't feel like his work, so for right now, all I want you to do is focus on getting there, getting used to the world you'll be in, and getting trained. Got it?" she asked. Naruto nodded and took a deep breath before exhaling, doing his best to relax his deep-seated unease. "Now get the hell out of my office before I throw you out," she ordered, giving him a small smile. He nodded again and flew out the window.

A short distance away, Kurenai knocked on Iruka's door gently, causing him to approach the door in only his heart-printed boxers and a silk robe.

"Your Hugga-Bear is coming, Shizune-chan!" he declared as he opened the door widely, letting out a sharp yelp of shock as he saw Kurenai instead. Kurenai couldn't help but laugh until her sides hurt, gasping for air and clutching at her ribs as tears streamed down her face.

"Hu-Hugga-Bear, really?" she asked through the uncontrollable laughter as Iruka tied his robe shut indignantly.

"Oh, shut up...," he growled, looking away with a deep red blush on his face. He stood aside to allow her into his apartment to check on Mansuke, who was asleep in his crib, snoring lightly. She gently lifted him out of his bed, holding her son to her shoulder as he gripped her shoulder with a tiny fist.

"How's he been?" she asked, no louder than a whisper. Iruka smiled and shrugged, looking at the small baby with a low sigh, wondering if his own would be as well-behaved as Kurenai's.

"He's been good. Rarely cries, not a fussy eater," he listed as Kurenai laid Mansuke back down, covering him with blankets again. "Also, the photographer will come tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning," he informed her, scratching his chin. She stood still for a few seconds and nodded.

"Thank you, Iruka. For everything," she said, patting Iruka on the chest and heading out of the apartment.

"No problem," he whispered, watching her vanish into the late night fog concealing Konoha's streets.

Elsewhere, Matsuda Yuuichi hung up another strip of celluloid containing the photographs of another shinobi family with a child too young to remember what his parents looked like. Another family who would perhaps never be reunited would at least always have this to leave behind for their children. One moment, frozen in time, in which the child of the two shinobi could point to and say 'These are my parents, who bravely carried the Will of Fire into battle and fell into shadow on the field of arms.' That was Matsuda's duty. Under a single red bulb, breathing in air damp with the stink of chemicals, Matsuda Yuiichi defended the memories of a million shinobi.

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Author's Notes: Another sixteen (highly delayed) pages. Sorry for the backup, but there have been some recent events that conspired to keep me away from the computer and my writing. I'll do my best to update faster and maintain the highest level of quality possible. Speaking of quality, much love to my beta, Hime Temari, and to all of you reviewers who offer me great criticism and support. Please keep reading and reviewing, I love all of your opinions and I hope you like what comes next.

Next Chapter: All Passengers Will Depart from the Upper Level and Arrive on the Lower Level


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Nine Shadows of Harry Potter

Author: eva-unit-01

Rating: M, for violence, foul language, and eventual citrus content.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its related trademarks, indicia, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Naruto and its related trademarks, indicia, etc. belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz Media, et al. I claim right to nothing herein except for the plot.

Pairings: HarryTemari, NaruHina, ShikaIno, RonHermione, ShizuneIruka, and mentions of

KurenaiAsuma, ShikaTem, and NejiTen

_Indicates certain sounds or Engurisshu pronunciations_

_Indicates thoughts or spells or emphasis

* * *

_

Chapter Four: All Passengers Will Depart from the Upper Level, and Arrive on the Lower Level

Naruto arose at seven-thirty the next morning, feeling quite a bit more sluggish than usual. Of course, one of the primary reasons for that was the exceedingly long mission briefing last night. The other reason was that after the briefing, Naruto elected to walk Hinata home. While she appreciated the gesture, her father Hiashi was considerably less grateful. Hiashi's unending enmity towards the blonde Jinchuuriki hadn't mellowed with time, nor with the fact that Naruto was dating his eldest daughter. As soon as Naruto stepped foot on the grounds of the Hyuuga Estate, Hiashi appeared before him, chasing him away despite some very vocal opposition from Hinata. Naruto spent half an hour evading the exceptionally skilled head of the Hyuuga clan before stumbling to his bed at two-fifteen in the morning. However, Naruto had realized a while back that Hiashi was simply disagreeing on principle. If the man had really wanted him dead, Hiashi would have killed him when he first started dating Hinata.

Upon awakening, he slowly lumbered towards the shower, groaning as the hot water sprayed his face, bringing him gradually into the land of the living. Eventually, he exited the shower and brushed his teeth, looking in the mirror, noting that his blonde hair was as unruly as ever. He idly ran his fingers along his jaw, feeling some stubble. Lately, Naruto had come to notice that his facial hair was becoming more noticeable, especially after Hinata kissed him and told him his cheek felt scratchy. He reached under his sink and pulled out a can of shaving cream, then his razor from the cabinet. He glanced at the bladed instrument with a subtle hint of apprehension. He was a novice at shaving and had often been seen with small dots of toilet paper stuck to his face, which never failed to give Ino the giggles whenever she saw him that way. Pushing those thoughts aside, Naruto lathered his face with the cream and began to slowly draw the razor over his skin. Eventually, he finished, noting with some small pride that he had managed to finish the deed without spilling any of his own blood. Looking into the mirror one last time, satisfied with his appearance and giving his most confident smile, he looked into his own aqua blue eyes and pounded his fist into his open palm.

"Yosh!" he declared before proceeding to get dressed, wearing another copy of the same black and orange outfit he always wore. With that out of the way, he began to pack for the mission.

Packing for a mission was always a balance between preparing for as many eventualities as you could imagine, while not burdening yourself with excess items, in order to remain light on your feet. Unrolling his travel pack, Naruto packed a decent supply of necessities such as boxers and toiletries. Also, he grabbed a few sealing scrolls and locked in a plentiful amount of kunai, shuriken, senbon needles, and exploding tags. As far as clothes went, he packed four sets of his standard clothing, two sets of hot weather clothes, one wet weather outfit, and finally, a set of cold weather gear. Having finished packing, he went to make himself breakfast. Usually, if he had time, he'd make an egg, toast, and milk. If he was strapped for time, it would either be instant ramen or just toast and milk. Naruto glanced up at his clock and saw that it was already nine fifteen. He quickly made some hot water and poured it into the Styrofoam cup, waiting the full minute before scarfing it down, gasping and coughing as the hot broth scalded his vocal cords slightly. He pounded his chest with his closed fist, stomping on the floor as the pain sang in his throat. He rushed to the sink and gulped a glass of cold water, sighing in relief. Returning to his ramen, remembering this time to blow on it before eating, Naruto finished his breakfast and dashed out the door, still feeling slightly fatigued from last night. Thankfully, attached to his belt was a pack of soldier pills. He popped one into his mouth, his face contorted into a distasteful grimace as he crunched on the tiny brown orb. Dry and bitter, the pill made Naruto feel as if he was grinding sawdust between his teeth. He locked the door and jumped onto the roof of the building, dashing towards the Hokage's tower.

A short distance away, Temari and Kankurou had also begun their journey towards Tsunade's office. They too, opted for the rooftop path, making speed their priority as Kurenai looked up to see them race past Iruka's apartment, Mansuke gurgling happily in Kurenai's arms, his gaze rapt upon the finger puppets wiggling on Matsuda's right hand. Kurenai smiled towards the camera as Matsuda's left thumb depressed the shutter button, capturing a moment in which mother and son smiled together for what Matsuda considered as possibly the last time they might do so, though he would never say so out loud. Matsuda took the payment from Iruka as Shizune held Mansuke.

"I'll deliver the photos to you this week, Umino-san," Matsuda said, handing the receipt to the teacher as Mansuke groped at Matsuda's white smock, tugging on the older man's lapel. Matsuda smiled at Mansuke as he waved goodbye, picking up his camera and tripod and walking back to his studio.

"On that note, I think I should say goodbye as well." Kurenai said quietly, pressing her lips to Mansuke's cheek and running her fingers through his hair. "Be good and don't cause trouble." she whispered. "And remember always...that your mommy loves you..." she trailed off, almost on the verge of tears. Before she could break down, she pulled Iruka and Shizune into brief, strong hugs. "Thank you for watching over my son, and tell him every day that I love him, and that I wish I could be there with him. " she said softly, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Without waiting for a reply, she jumped onto the roof as well, heading for the center of Konoha. Along the way, she ran past Matsuda, who was walking along the street. As she passed, he felt a drop of moisture hit the back of his neck. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of Kurenai running ahead of him. He sighed and leaned against a wall, looking up at the clear, blue sky.

"It always tends to rain on days like today." he whispered, closing his eyes briefly before continuing along his path back to the studio.

Kurenai arrived at the Hokage's tower last, looking at the clock to see that it was almost ten o'clock exactly. As she entered the office, Tsunade stood and nodded, acknowledging her presence before speaking.

"Good, we've all arrived. Now, where did we leave off last night?" she asked, looking around for an answer before Shikamaru spoke up, running his fingers through his spiky black ponytail.

"Well, we've covered magic, or at least our theory of it, some of Potter's background, pure-blood wizarding society, a theoretical connection between Voldemort and Orochimaru, and finally, the houses of Hogwarts. So I think we ought to finish with Potter and move onto his friends and their families." he suggested, before Temari spoke up.

"Also, I think it'd be good to know a bit more about the wizarding world and its government. Dumbledore hasn't been very forthcoming on any political ramifications of Voldemort's return or their currency system or any other important details we could use to beef up our cover." she stated, leaning back in her chair, only to be startled out of it a second later as Dumbledore's mellifluous voice echoed behind her, causing her to jump slightly and whirl around with a kunai in her hand, stopping as she saw the old man, now in robes of a deep, royal purple color.

"My apologies, Miss Temari. I did not mean to offend you by withholding details on the wizarding world. Regrettably, however, I shall not be the one to inform you of them. I have appointed a member of the Order to act as liaison between all of you and myself. His name is Remus Lupin, and here is his photograph." Dumbledore slid his hand into his robes and pulled out a picture of a man with somewhat droopy brown hair, a pale complexion, and a tired smile on his face. The robes he wore were a badly stained and patched brown color. "Also, he was appointed as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for Harry's third year at Hogwarts, and remains in contact with him still. As you will read in the scrolls, Harry's third year was especially trying, for both Harry and Remus. Anything more is not my place to say." Dumbledore concluded, smiling genially at the people assembled in the room.

"So, what'll we be doing for the rest of the six weeks that we won't be with Lupin-san?" Sakura asked, looking at Dumbledore with an inquisitive glance.

"Ah, but Remus will be with you all constantly until you leave on the Hogwarts Express for the start of term on September 1st." Albus replied, still smiling as he proceeded. "As you will all be going undercover as Hogwarts students, you will need to learn things that wizards and witches your age will be expected to know. Also, the place you are staying is right next to the entrance of the hub of wizarding commerce, Diagon Alley. I have placed you there for the sole reason of acquiring the tools you need to enforce this cover story. Wands, spell books, potion supplies, and uniforms." he explained, looking around at the variously disgruntled, surprised, and reluctant looks. "The only one allowed to dress as she pleases, within the limits of good taste, is Kurenai-san, as she is going undercover as a member of the teaching staff." Dumbledore elucidated.

"Ano-sa, Dumbledore-san. Do any of the uniforms have orange in them?" asked Naruto, hoping for an affirmative answer from the venerable headmaster, only to be gently rebuffed by the old wizard.

"My apologies, Uzumaki-san. Unfortunately, they do not." he replied, bowing his head slightly in a show of sincerity. Naruto simply sat there in shock, looking at Dumbledore, then at Sakura, then finally to Hinata.

"S-Sakura-chan! Hina-chan! Did you hear what he just said? N-n-no orange!" he stuttered out, on the verge of tears, while Sakura just tried to keep from laughing at the stunned expression on her comrade's face. Hinata merely reached out to pat her boyfriend on the shoulder consolingly, blushing slightly at the open use of his pet name for her. Tsunade rose from her chair and addressed Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore-san, I'm not quite sure how to say this...but..." Tsunade paused, as a feeling of immense gratefulness welled up inside her. "Thank you. Thank you so very much!" the female Hokage exclaimed, bowing deeply to Dumbledore, who was left feeling rather nonplussed by this show of gratitude from the normally stern woman in front of him.

"I've been trying to get him to change his wardrobe for years!" Sakura gushed, also bowing to Dumbledore as Naruto looked on in shock and confusion before finally finding his voice again.

"T-traitors! The both of you!" Naruto cried out in a betrayed tone. Looking around, Naruto sought the eyes of his fellow shinobi. "I mean, not everyone feels that way, right?" he asked, only to receive guilty looks from everyone else in the room, including Hinata. Finally, a voice spoke up next to Tenten as Lee rose to his feet, an apologetic and slightly downcast look on his face as he began to speak..

"Naruto-kun, this might be unyouthful of me to say, but... I too have difficulty with the idea of you wearing the same outfit every day." Naruto looked at Lee in shock before it quickly turned to disbelief.

"Dwah? Fuzzy Brows has issues with me wearing the same clothes every day?" he shouted at the bowl-cut devotee of his sensei, Maito Gai. "You wear the exact same thing each day too!" Naruto declared, causing Lee to immediately respond.

"That is both untrue and unyouthful! I do not wear the same thing every day! Each of my outfits is in varying degrees of tightness!" Rock Lee shouted, giving off his Good Guy Pose #1, complete with sparkling teeth and blazing sunset.

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?" Naruto asked, looking at Lee with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"You can tell by the bulge." was Tenten's left-field reply. Suddenly, all eyes were on her, as the enormity of what she said finally reached her brain. Her hands slapped over her mouth as a bright red blush spread across her face. She looked over at Lee, who crossed his hands over his crotch and inched away from Tenten with an apprehensive look on his face. Naruto snickered as the others did their best to stifle their laughter.

"Ne, Shikamaru, did Tenten just admit to checking out Lee's bulge?" Naruto asked, trying almost in vain to hold back his laughter. Shikamaru was also attempting the same endeavour as he nodded, trying not to laugh as he spoke.

"Sounded like it to me, Naruto." he agreed as Tenten waved her arms to dissuade them from reaching any unwarranted conclusions.

"Shut up! The both of you!" Tenten shouted, even more red-faced and agitated than before. "A-and besides, even if I did look once or twice, I'm with Neji now, and his package is way bigger than Lee's." she finished, slapping her hands over her mouth again, having said something even more mortifying than before. The other Konoha shinobi in the room looked uneasily at each other, having just learned something they believed best kept secret. Kurenai and Tsunade looked stricken while Dumbledore looked out the window, sucking on a lemon drop, seemingly blocking out the conversation, having cast a _Muffliato_ on himself as soon as the word "bulge" entered the picture. As far as Dumbledore was concerned, half of the skill in dealing with teenagers meant knowing when to tune them out. Hinata could only bury her head in the crook of Naruto's neck, whimpering.

"Urgh. Now I'm going to have images of Neji naked in my head for the rest of the day." she said, shuddering against the young jailor of the Kyuubi. Tenten bowed apologetically and rubbed the back of her head with her left hand, an uneasy and contrite smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have blurted that out so boldly." Tenten apologized to Hinata, as Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in annoyance.

"This is why those love triangles are so damn troublesome." he growled sardonically, receiving a scathing look from Temari, at which he quickly fell silent and looked away. Naruto noticed the byplay between Shika and Temari, and sighed. A year ago, Shikamaru had been discovered cheating on Temari with Ino. Needless to say, it developed into something approaching an international incident. After all, anything involving the Sand could also hold some diplomatic implications. Tsunade was not amused, and nearly busted Shikamaru back to genin level. Gaara understood that politics had nothing to do with it, but for his sister's sake, was more than willing to put the fear of a former jinchuuriki who could still manipulate sand in ways Shikamaru was loath to imagine into the lazy jounin's heart. Kankurou just mentioned wanting to give Shika some 'quality time' alone with Karasu. In the end, Shikamaru retained his pay grade, after two months suspension without pay while the incident was investigated. But it also went without saying that he was _persona non grata_, by order of the Kazekage,whenever he happened to have a mission that took him through Suna.

"Back on topic." Tsunade commanded in an exasperated voice, leaning forward on her desk with her chin resting in her palm. She glanced upwards to the clock mounted on her wall and noticed the time. 12:30 p.m., fifteen minutes from departure. Taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet and began to speak.

"As you are all professionals, I expect your very best on this extended mission. You are about to enter a foreign country with different customs, languages, and...specialized abilities that have never yet been revealed to any of the shinobi nations, as far as we know. This will most likely be the most trying test of your skills that any of you have ever faced. I am also grateful to the Kazekage of Sunagakure for allowing your participation in this mission." the Godaime Hokage said, rising to her feet and bowing slightly to Kankurou and Temari, who both bowed deeply in return. Tsunade's voice took on a more serious note as she addressed Kankurou, Temari, and Shikamaru. "I am also well aware of the tension between the three of you, especially Temari-san and Shikamaru-san. Know now that I will tolerate no actions from any of you that might be construed as retribution for past events. If your past becomes an issue here, I will take you off this mission and bust you all back down to genin." At Kankurou's incredulous look, she turned to face him directly. "Don't think that I'm not capable of doing it. The Kazekage has given me direct authority over you for the duration of the mission." she informed him before turning to face the other shinobi. "The same goes for all of you. Should you compromise the mission or reveal secrets of the shinobi world, or Konoha itself, you will be sent back here, and depending on the severity of the infraction either demoted to genin or released from the ninja service altogether. In closing, I would like to say how proud I am of all of you, and that I wish you success in the mission." she finished, noting with satisfaction that they all stood a little straighter after her speech.

A metallic ting sounded from somewhere in the room, and they all looked for the source as Dumbledore drew out an old pocket watch from inside his robes.

"Ah, time to leave." he said genially, removing the _Muffliato_ from himself with a quick _Finite Incantatem_ and turning to address the gathered parties. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is time we made our way to the place I've prepared." he intoned pleasantly, pulling out a battered, rusty lighting sconce and setting it on Tsunade's desk. Naruto looked at it apprehensively before looking back at Dumbledore. "Now, all of you need to touch it. Just the tip of your finger will do."

"Eh?" Kankurou asked, looking at the sconce doubtfully. "This thing will take us all the way to England?" he questioned, lifting a brown eyebrow at the wall fixture. The Headmaster nodded and gently clapped Kankurou on the shoulder reassuringly, smiling in a grandfatherly way that somehow set the Kazekage's older brother more at ease.

"Indeed it will, Kankurou-san. Now, please, place the tip of your finger on the item." Swallowing his slight nervousness, he reached out and placed the tip of his index finger on the badly tarnished decorative bronze accent. Hinata followed next, along with Temari and the rest. Suddenly, the puppet wielder felt a sharp pull from his behind his navel, followed by an exceedingly sharp pain as he vanished with the others in a whirlpool of light, sound, and color. Tsunade covered her eyes to shield herself from the light and as soon as it subsided, she turned to face Dumbledore, only to find him gone. She sighed and slumped down in her chair, pulling a bottle of sake from her lower drawer and forgoing the cup, opting to drink directly from the bottle. In a secret room in the basement of the Leaky Cauldron, Remus Lupin sat in the dim candlelight, the low light casting deep shadows along the walls and highlighting the premature lines etched into his face. The consequences of living a hard, lonely life, he supposed as he sipped his butterbeer. He was supposed to meet Albus and the people he had contracted to protect Harry at Hogwarts. He knew why he couldn't return to teaching at the school, despite how well liked he was by the non-Slytherin students. Parents didn't want werewolves teaching their children. Tonks would be a hit with the students, he reasoned, so why not use her? Well, there was the fact that she was dead clumsy and broke almost everything she touched. Sighing, Remus figured that Dumbledore must have his reasons, no matter how obscure and befuddling they may be. A breeze seemed to stir in the room and Remus diverted his gaze to the centre of the room as a bronze sconce that Tonks accidentally snapped off its base in Grimmauld Place clanged loudly to the floor. A pink haired girl wearing a short top and skirt followed soon after, groaning in pain from the hard landing on the hard wood floor. She was followed swiftly by a black haired boy with spiky black hair, wearing a green vest and cargo pants. "Troublesome...," he muttered, wobbling slightly on his feet as he rose, his face sporting a slight green tint before being knocked back down to the ground face first as another black haired boy arrived, landing on the first boy's back. This one wore bright green spandex with orange leg and arm warmers. Lupin thought that was slightly absurd. He'd always assumed leg warmers had thankfully died with the 80's. "Lee...," Shikamaru growled, "Get the fuck off me." Rock Lee looked down, then jumped to his feet, pulling Shikamaru up with him and bowing in apology as Kankurou, Temari, and Tenten arrived, followed by Kurenai and Hinata. Naruto was the last to arrive and appeared much more at ease with the trip, having already portkeyed to Dumbledore's office last night.

"Yosh! We're here!" Naruto declared jovially, looking around at the dismal and sparse room they had arrived in. "Dunno where here is, but, anyways, we're here, y'know!" he continued smiling brightly and looking as unerringly confident as ever, causing Shikamaru to groan and shake his head along with Sakura. Kurenai just looked at him with a hint of slight amusement as Lupin's chair scraped against the floor of Leaky Cauldron's basement. Suddenly, all eyes were on Remus as he rose to his feet.

"So, you all must be the special group Dumbledore assigned me to teach for the next six weeks. Greetings, my name is Remus J. Lupin, and I'll be the liaison between yourselves, Dumbledore, and the magical world until you leave for Hogwarts on September 1st," he said, bowing at the waist deeply. As the senior representative of Konoha, Kurenai stepped forward and bowed in return.

"Thank you for your welcome, Lupin-san. I look forward to working with you, and learning from you during our stay here," she replied, smiling politely before continuing. "I am the supervisory operative for this mission, and my team is as follows," she said, indicating the shinobi in turn. "Firstly, my second in command, Nara Shikamaru," she said, pointing at the spiky haired Jounin who simply nodded in return. "Then we have Rock Lee, Tenten, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, and from the Hidden Village of Sand, Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankurou," she finished as each of the nin bowed slightly at their introductions.

"Excellent," he said, smiling pleasantly, looking at the band of ninja, each of their expressions alternating between inquisitive, expectant, apprehensive, and in some cases, quite eager. "Well, as for where 'here' is," he began, using the same tone of voice as he did while teaching, "'Here' is actually the basement of the Leaky Cauldron pub. We'll be staying in the rooms they let out to guests for the next six weeks. You needn't worry about people finding you out. The publican, Tom, has a tight lip and won't say naught if Dumbledore tells him not to. Also, don't worry too much about standing out in your regular clothes in the Cauldron, this is the type of place that accepts all kinds of folk. Well, the sort of folk who can see it at all, at any rate. We might want to take you out shopping in Muggle London to get clothes that fit in more with the common fashions outside though...," he paused, crossing his arm and tapping a finger against his bicep. "Ah, in any case, we'll cover that tomorrow," he decided. "After all, we have until September 1st and it's only July 14th," he finished, moving towards the staircase and heading upstairs. "Come along, come along. I'd just as soon not spend all day down here, thanks very much," he said lightly, opening the door that led from the basement to the ground floor dry storage room behind Tom's bar.

As soon as the shinobi of Konoha exited the pantry and entered the space where Tom served his drinks, they were assaulted by the din of clanking cups, rattling plates and silverware, and boisterous patrons talking loudly to each other as the midday lunch rush overtook the Leaky Cauldron's main dining room, its air rife with the smell of food, alcohol, and tobacco. Hundreds of wizards and witches occupied the room, several in rather close approximations of muggle fashions, many in robes with hats or shawls, and some wearing things that would be considered insane, avant-garde, or illegal in several countries. Leaning against the frame of the door, Remus turned to the shinobi and smiled. "Welcome to the wizarding world," he genially, but quietly, announced as he walked up to tap Tom on the shoulder gently. The barkeep turned his head sharply at the tap, but relaxed with a nod when he saw Lupin behind him. The pair engaged in a quiet conversation as the Konoha nin looked on silently. At the end of the discussion, Tom crouched low on his knees and drew his wand, giving what appeared to be an empty space on one of the shelves a sharp rap with the wooden shaft. Instantly, a small safe revealed itself, having previously been concealed with a disillusionment spell. He waved his wand again and the combination dials turned, opening the safe without him ever having to touch it. Tom reached in and pulled out a small leather satchel, handing it to Remus before closing the safe and re-establishing the disguising spell that hid the safe. "Thank you, Tom," Remus said, holding the satchel close to his body as the barkeep slowly rose to his feet.

"'Anything you need, Mr. Dumbledore, sir.' I said, and I meant every word of it. You keep those rooms for however long you need," Tom said firmly, nodding at Remus with a small smile. The haggard looking professor just smiled tiredly and nodded.

"And we appreciate it, Tom. Thank you," he replied, inclining his head to the left to indicate to the shinobi the staircase that led up to the second floor rooms. Nodding in response, the nine of them headed for the stairs as silently as possible, reaching the upper landing and waiting for the former Defense teacher, who arrived shortly after. "Alright everyone, follow me," he said, leading the way along the hall to the farthest room. He opened the door and led them into a bare room lit brightly by the sun, and magically enlarged enough so that it was practically as large in terms of length and width, as the Great Hall at Hogwarts. However, this room was nowhere near as elaborate. The design was in fact, rather simple, with exposed brick and wood in the roof sections, and the walls around them covered in a basic white plaster with still more exposed wood. Another difference from the Great Hall was that there were two large common tables in the front of the room, with a large table and chalkboard facing the other two. The eight junior nin, along with their senior, Kurenai, looked at the room, impressed with its dimensions. Remus cleared his throat to gather their attentions. "Now, this is where you'll be learning and practicing for the next six weeks in the run-up to the start of term at Hogwarts." He held up the parcel he retrieved from Tom and opened it. "These are your official cover papers. You've all retained your real names, but now, you all hail from the nation of Japan and have transferred from the Seimei Institute for Magical Studies with a focus on Western Magics," he elaborated as he drew one of the pouches from within. The pouches contained all the falsified documents they'd need. Passports, ID cards from the Seimei Institute, birth certificates, and a number of ancillary papers. Oddly enough, the pouches that held the papers were much larger than the pouch they were in. "All right then, listen for your names," he said, looking at the name on the first pouch he drew. "Hyuuga Hinata," he called, and she walked over to take her pouch. The veins near her eyes throbbed as she attempted to use her Byakugan on the satchel Lupin held, but saw nothing, walking to the outer edge of the room in consternation. Remus smirked slightly as he watched her try to figure out the mystery of the bag. One by one, he called them all up to get their pouches, each of them trying to look into the bag or figure out how it worked.

Once everyone had retrieved their information, Lupin spoke again. "I am sorry, but I am going to be unduly harsh with you lot because I have a scant six weeks to pump your heads with four years worth of learning. It won't be an easy task, not for you, nor for myself. I'll bear with you, if you'll bear with me," he said with a weary smile on his face, looking at the group in front of him while some of them just sighed and silently nodded their assent. "The reason for this is that a week before term, you are all required to present yourselves before the Ministry of Magic for an examination that will determine whether or not you are all up to snuff for this transfer. Fail the test, and you're disqualified for the mission. That being said, I've heard from Dumbledore, and he tells me that he has every confidence in you. Having known Dumbledore for a number of years, I can tell you his word is bond. If he feels he can trust you and your skills with Harry's safety, then so can I," Lupin finished, giving them a reassuring smile.

Tenten raised her hand, feeling rather like a pre-Genin again, causing her to blush slightly in embarrassment as everyone turned to look at her.

"A-Ano, Lupin-sensei, can we take a tour of this city? According to the sun, it's only...," she paused briefly to look out the window at the bright star that was almost imperceptibly arcing towards the west over the buildings beyond the window. "Two o-clock in the afternoon. There should be plenty of time to get the layout of the city before dark," she finished, to which Lupin responded with a slightly incredulous laugh, once again surveying the group before his amusement ceased as he noted the flat expressions on the faces of the shinobi.

"Did Dumbledore really tell you nothing about where he was sending you, at all? I mean, I'm certain of course that he told you a bit about Hogwarts, of course" he said before continuing. "But really, nothing at all about the United Kingdom or London?" he asked, leaning against his large desk placed at the front of the room, resting his palms flatly against the wood while his fingers curled over the edge. "Oh, well, now that is a bit of an oversight," he said, tapping his fingers against the varnished surface of the desk and looking up at the ceiling briefly before turning to a large chalkboard to his left. "Right then, you lot, go ahead and take your seats," he said, as the shinobi, including Kurenai, each picked a spot at one of the long tables . Once satisfied, Remus tapped the chalkboard with his wand, causing a large map of the United Kingdom to appear on the board's surface. "First lesson, the United Kingdom, formally known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Also included are-" He was cut off by the sounds of the visitors behind him rushing to grab scrolls, brushes, and ink from their packs as Lupin spun around. He saw their supplies on the table and nodded in approval, a small smile turning up one corner of his mouth. "Yes, please, by all means take notes. Were you all under my instruction at Hogwarts, I'd have given you all five points for your House," he said, turning back to the board before being interrupted by Kankurou.

"Points?" he asked, looking at Remus quizzically. Lupin nodded and turned around to look at the painted nin.

"Yes, points. The four student Houses of Hogwarts operate on a merit point system which awards points for good work, and detracts points for bad work. More on that for a future discussion, but for now, we focus on the task at hand," he said, gesturing towards the board with his wand. "As I was saying before, also included in the United Kingdom are the areas of Scotland and Wales," he said, tapping the board again, causing Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to be more clearly outlined. He tapped the lower part of Ireland with his wand, causing it to glow slightly. "This right here is the Republic of Ireland, though not part of the U.K., you'll find that quite a few of Hogwarts' students come from there. The island of Great Britain, which you are on now, encompasses England, Scotland, and Wales with a total area of 240,000 square kilometres or roughly 93,000 square miles. The city of London itself has an area of 1,572 kilometres or 607 square miles." The group of younger nin whispered to each other in shock, having never heard of a village that large before. Kurenai's expression betrayed nothing, but she scribbled quickly on her scroll, tucking some strands of long, black hair behind her ear as she wrote, looking at Lupin inquisitively before speaking.

"Forgive me, Mister Lupin, but I find it difficult to comprehend how any city can grow to such vast lengths. Not even the capital of Fire Country, where the daimyo resides, could be even considered one-fifth of the size of this place. How is such vast expansion possible?" she asked as Remus turned around to face her, leaning forward with her chin resting on top of her laced fingers and her hauntingly red eyes fixed on Remus' own.

"Well," Remus said, looking back at Kurenai. "Not so very long ago, the United Kingdom was more commonly known as the British Empire. In fact, we controlled so much land in so many places around the world, it was often said that 'The sun never sets on the British Empire,'. And to be honest, they were mostly correct," he explained, before continuing. He waved his wand at the board and erased his map of the UK, replacing it with one of the world. He tapped the board again and highlighted the territories of the British Empire, with past and present possessions in different colors. "These are all the places on our planet that used to belong to England. Tobacco from the former American colonies, spices and tea from India and the far East. And in the Caribbean, sugar...and slavery. Portions of Africa were also highly beneficial in terms of the slave trade," he elaborated, pausing in anticipation of a vicious verbal backlash against the ugly historical truth that their host nation had participated in such a vile and dehumanizing practice. Interestingly enough, there was no barrage of invectives or recriminations. The shinobi of Konoha just looked at Lupin impassively, as if studying his expressions while he tried to do the same. This time, Sakura asked him just one single question.

"Why?" Remus looked at her and leaned on his desk, arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at the floor, trying to come up with a decent explanation. Finally, after a long pause, he spoke.

"The short answer is cheap labor. We took these people and gave them jobs in exchange for food and housing, if they were lucky enough to even get that," he replied, pausing again before continuing. "But, if you want the longer, more truthful, and to be honest, much more painful to admit answer, then I'll give you that as well. Why did we take these people to be slaves? Because we traveled off the edges of the known maps, sometimes for exploration, reporting back what was found, after which the military would attack and conquer. Others traveled to find quicker ways of bringing goods to market. Now, granted, we weren't the first civilization to take and sell slaves. The practice of slavery is as old as recorded civilization. But as for us, when we traveled, we came upon nations and people far less technologically advanced than we were, and seeing their general state of living, looked down on them as being strange and inferior. But they were so generous to us... They gave us everything they could, and we took more. We took so much more than they were willing to give. To paraphrase one of the great kings of antiquity, 'We came, we saw, we conquered,' But we didn't just conquer, we slaughtered, and pillaged, and raped. Disease claimed most of those we didn't kill outright. And those that were left we forced to convert to our religions and ways before taking them back home as slaves. We coerced their chieftains and kings to sell their people to us in exchange for their own survival. In those days, it was common practice among the more 'civilized' nations, including, and with some far more dire and long-lasting effects, the United States of America," Lupin let out a short, dry, humorless grunt of laughter. "'Civilized...' I doubt there is any less civilized, less human act on the face of this planet than breaking someone down so completely that they can only be recognized as a piece of property to be sold or borrowed at whim. The very idea breaks my heart," he finished softly. Naruto spoke up, looking at Lupin sympathetically.

"I hate people who do that kinda shit. We've guarded plenty of rich folks who have people working for them who owe them some kinda past debt, and they treat them like crap," he said, nodding his blonde head affirmatively. Lupin pushed himself off the desk and pointed at Naruto with his piece of chalk, nodding.

"That's true, there used to be many wealthy people who employed others under that same flag. That's called 'indentured servitude', and while it shows many similarities with slavery, people who are indentured servants can leave the employ of the man they owed once their debt has been worked off," he replied as Naruto made a sort of 'ah' gesture of understanding. "Well, I hope that answers your questions as to how the Empire gained some of its money. The rest was gained through ingenuity, hard work, and the unflagging spirit of British industry and efficiency," he replied with a smile, though it seemed far more tired than ever before. Moving back to the chalkboard, Lupin restarted his lessons, this time uninterruptedly, covering the political system, the monarchy, currency, the districts of London, the Underground, and a host of other vital topics. The lessons ended at 7:30 pm, at which time the middle-aged werewolf dismissed the nin. Only Kurenai remained behind after the others had gathered their scrolls and headed to their bedrooms. The ebon-haired Jounin walked up to him at his desk and bowed slightly to him, looking at him with something akin to respect.

"i was much impressed with your lesson today, Lupin-sensei. It takes a great deal of courage for a citizen to admit where his country has erred," she stated pleasantly. Lupin simply smiled at her before responding while packing his things.

"Yes, well... with a question like that, I really didn't have any room to dodge, did I? Though I suspect that that might have been your true aim. To measure me up by asking a question that reveals not only a dark patch of my country's history, but how I felt about it as well," he replied. Kurenai raised an eyebrow and gave a light shrug.

"Even in my world, you'd be hard pressed to find an empire not built on the bones of others. Wars only have one winner, after all," she replied in a sombre voice.

"Well, England's won a considerable amount to be sure," he replied blandly. "Though, when it comes to the slavery issue, I'm thankful to say that Wizarding Britain had very little to do with that. We've always done our best to keep the worlds separate," Remus explained, before turning his head sharply to the left as he heard the echo of a small pop. After a moment, his eyes came to rest on the steaming plate of food that sat on the desk that had been empty only seconds ago. Kurenai stared at the plate in open shock as Lupin just looked at it with a sense of guilty resignation. "Though, to be completely honest...when it comes to slavery and looking down on others, wizarding hands are far from clean," he said quietly, taking a sip from a glass filled with a wine whose color could easily have been mistaken for blood.

* * *

Chapter End

Author's Notes: This was a very difficult chapter to write. Not only was I suffering from mild writer's block, but I decided to touch on a very sensitive topic. If I've offended anyone with what I said here, then I regret it, but I do not apologize for it. History is what it is. We can not change the past, but we can improve our futures by making sure such atrocities never occur again. I would very much like to thank my readers, and all those who have added my stories and myself to their list of favorites. And it is impossible for me to overstate the assistance, reassurance, and amazing level of support given to me by my ever courageous creative partner, Hime Temari. Thank you, all of you. The next chapter is already being built.

Next Chapter: Wizarding 101


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Nine Shadows of Harry Potter

Author: eva-unit-01

Rating: M, for violence, foul language, and eventual citrus content.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its related trademarks, indicia, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Naruto and its related trademarks, indicia, etc. belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz Media, et al. I claim right to nothing herein except for the plot.

Pairings: HarryTemari, NaruHina, ShikaIno, RonHermione, ShizuneIruka, and mentions of

KurenaiAsuma, ShikaTem, and NejiTen

_Indicates certain sounds or Engurisshu pronunciations_

_Indicates thoughts or spells or emphasis_

* * *

Chapter Five: Wizarding 101, Part 1

Shikamaru was awakened the next morning by a fist pounding loudly on the door of his room. He groaned and raised his head slightly, looking at the door through one bleary eye, wondering who the hell would want to deprive him of his precious sleep, and how long they expected to live after he got through with them.

"Oi! Shika! Get your lazy ass up! We're goin' to Diagon Alley as soon as we've had breakfast, so hurry it up, man!" There was a loud scuffling noise, then a heavy thump, followed by Naruto's yelp of pain. "Ow, ow, ow, OW! Sakura-chan! What'd I do?" Naruto yelled, the sound of his voice fading as Sakura pulled him towards the stairs by his collar.

"Other people are trying to sleep around here, you know!" she shouted in reply, her voice echoing faintly up the stairs as she herded Naruto down to the dining area. Shikamaru sighed and lay his head back down for a few more minutes before finally deciding to toss his covers aside and get ready for the day. He rose to his feet and began a fifteen minute series of stretches, limbering every part of his body before heading into the bathroom. As he entered, he eyed the area with some mild distaste. Granted, he was usually not one to cast aspersions, since on some missions he was lucky if he encountered a restroom in any sense of the word, but for some reasons, these English seemed to have utterly discarded the idea of a proper bath. Instead of the typical tiled scrubbing area, and a larger bath for soaking, these people used a shower system to accomplish both tasks at once. Admittedly, it was a far more efficient system but in Shika's mind, far less relaxing. Exhaling softly through his nose, he thumbed the crust of sleep out of his eyes and opened the faucets for the water, checking that it was his desired temperature before stripping off his boxers and activating the shower head. He stepped into the shower and emitted a low groan of satisfaction at the feeling of the hot water caressing his muscles. Twenty minutes later he arrived downstairs, dressed as usual, taking a seat at one of the communal benches facing the long table at which he and his comrades sat along with Professor Lupin. As he looked down the table, he saw Hinata gently pressing her lips to the top of Naruto's head where Shika assumed Sakura had knocked him one. Shikamaru just sighed and shook his head, while Temari rolled her eyes. Neither of them were big fans of public displays of affection; or at least had been, Shika corrected, considering the state of their no longer existent relationship. As he looked down at his empty plate, a sheet of parchment appeared on top of it with a small pop. He swiftly snatched it up and examined it carefully, flipping it back and forth several times, as if trying to find some hidden trick. Tenten just waved him off.

"Don't try to figure it out, Shikamaru. Just go with it," she helpfully supplied, finishing off a tall glass of orange juice. The Nara boy just sighed and looked down at the paper, reading the short breakfast menu.

"I figure that's just gonna be the rule for this mission," Kankurou conceded, wilting slightly at the notion of encountering a great many other things beyond his comprehension, at which point Temari reached over and patted his shoulder consolingly.

"Suck it up, Kankurou. We may be here a while," she responded neutrally, looking over at Shikamaru as Tom came over to take his order. Shikamaru was at a loss, as the menu had no rice, miso soup, or anything else he recognized.

"Get the pancakes," Naruto suggested. "They're like okonomiyaki, only bigger and with no filling. Lee an' I had 'em. They were pretty damn good. They came with a couple of fried eggs and three slices of bacon!" he said enthusiastically. The young Nara just sighed and nodded.

"Fine," he acquiesced, turning back to face the owner of the Leaky Cauldron. "I'll have what they had," he said, jerking his thumb at Lee and Naruto. "And some coffee with cream and sugar," he finished, while Tom wrote and nodded.

"Very good, sir. One full breakfast," he replied. "Any partic'lar way you want your eggs?" Shika sighed and deliberated for a second.

"Over hard'll be fine," he answered, to which Tom nodded again and walked off, taking the parchment menu with him. Shikamaru swung back around to face the rest of the group. "So I heard the plan is to hit Diagon Alley after breakfast?" he queried, looking at the former Hogwarts professor.

"Indeed," Lupin nodded, picking up his lukewarm cup of coffee and sipping it as while reading that day's edition of the Daily Prophet. As he perused one of the articles, his face contorted into a deep grimace. Another article by the Ministry decrying both Dumbledore and Harry as dangerous subversives attempting to destabilize Fudge and his administration by spreading false rumors of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The story, and Remus preferred to think of them as stories considering the near absolute lack of corroborating evidence, painted Harry as either being naïve and manipulated by Dumbledore, or an insane liar and/or anarchist. Kurenai noted the expression on Remus' face and angled herself to the left to see if she could get a glimpse of the paper. She did not have to wait long. As soon as he finished the article, the former professor let it drop onto the table next to his coffee, holding his head in his hands in a combination of anxiety ridden disgust and despair. The red-eyed jounin picked up the newspaper and tried to read it. After a few minutes, she tapped Lupin on the shoulder, causing him to turn his gaze to her, looking rather tired and grim.

"Can you translate this for me, please?" she asked, to which he responded with a diffident nod, drawing his wand.

"Fine. But I warn you, it doesn't make for good breakfast reading, especially if you prefer to keep a sunnier outlook on the day," he cautioned, tapping the paper with his wand and performing the translation spell. She responded with a dry smile and tone of voice.

"Whatever helps my people and I understand the political climate is worth reading, even if it offends _your _delicate sensibilities, Lupin-san. And if you're concerned that this article might pollute my opinion of Potter-san before meeting him, then you do us a great injustice," Kurenai stated sharply, allowing a bit of steel to flow into her voice for the first time, which took Remus aback somewhat and caused him to sit silently in thought for a while as she read the paper undisturbed. By now, Shikamaru's pancakes had arrived, once again, magically appearing on his plate. Four stacked pancakes, with a small dish of butter, and a small jug of hot syrup. The eggs and bacon occupied a separate plate, accompanied by small shakers of salt and pepper. The fork and knife sat directly to Shika's right. Picking up the utensils, the second in command of the mission cut a small wedge in his breakfast and stabbed it with the fork, picking up pieces of two of the four pancakes and sliding them into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a few moments and swallowed with difficulty, looking over at Naruto and Lee.

"Kinda dry, man…" he commented, looking at them neutrally, but the two of them could sense that he was fairly pissed off. Lee spoke up at seeing the untouched butter and syrup.

"Shikamaru! You must apply the butter and syrup! That's where Naruto and I were mistaken as well. Once we did that, the pancakes tasted much more youthful!" Lee declared, striking another of his Good Guy™ poses. Raising an eyebrow, Shikamaru did as suggested, taking another forkful into his mouth. Once his jaws closed around the mouthful of food, he paused and leaned back in his chair a bit.

"You know…those are actually pretty damn good with that stuff on them," he commented, looking down at his plate before shrugging and continuing to eat. Naruto and Lee just looked at each other and grinned as Shikamaru took to his neglected cup of coffee. Kankurou sipped his orange juice, a delicacy for both him and Temari, seeing as how Suna was so barren there was no chance of ever having anything resembling farms or orchards, and therefore most everything had to be delivered via caravan. Lupin scanned the table idly while sipping his coffee, waiting for Shikamaru to finish eating. Lee and Naruto were discussing all the things they hoped Hogwarts would have; Sakura was leaning back, keeping an eye on Naruto in case he acted up. Hinata and Tenten were leaning across the table at each other, discussing boyfriends, while Temari and Kankurou just looked slightly bored. Eventually, Kurenai set down the paper Lupin had been reading and looked at it, as if studying it. After a few moments, she spoke in a dry, even tone.

"Well, I was told that Fudge and the Prophet were trying to discredit Potter and Dumbledore, and it seems like they're doing a fairly good job. How many people do you think actually believe this?" she asked Lupin.

"A great deal. By most accounts, Harry's credibility as The Boy Who Lived, has dropped considerably. The people we try and recruit into the order refuse to join either because they fear the loss of their jobs should Fudge find out, or because these articles have twisted their perceptions of Dumbledore and Harry," he replied sighing heavily. "The list of people we can turn to is growing thin," he said seriously. After a few more minutes, Shikamaru finished his pancakes and coffee, fishing in one of his pockets for his pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out and struck a match, the slight hiss of the ensuing flame catching Lupin's attention. Shikamaru was about to take a long drag when he was abruptly sprayed in the face by a jet of water, forced to hold his hands in front of his face to stem the flow.

"Oi! Knock it off, will ya!" he shouted, sputtering and shaking his head to remove the excess water, looking around for the culprit and seeing Lupin with his wand pointed directly at him. "What the hell was that for?" he asked, wiping his sodden face with his almost equally soaked napkin.

"Get used to it, Shikamaru. Hogwarts is a non-smoking institution," he replied, causing Shikamaru to pale at the thought of being forbidden to smoke for the duration of the mission. The nicotine withdrawal alone would be hell, never mind being surrounded by strangers and strange events. This was going to be much tougher than he thought. Unexpectedly, however, was the somewhat sympathetic look he was being given by Kurenai. Shortly after the incident, Lupin rose to his feet and looked at the assembled crowd.

"Well then, if we're all finished with breakfast, it's time to head to Diagon Alley," he announced, causing everyone to rise to their feet, talking in hushed, excited whispers about what they were about to see. Lupin led them out the back door and into a crowded, cramped rear area with no way out except the way they came in.

"Ano-sa, Lupin-san, you sure this is the right way?" Naruto asked, looking around the tight space with a rather bland expression on his face.

"Yes, Uzumaki. This is exactly where we need to be," he replied, pulling out his wand and tapping the furthest part of the rear wall in various places, causing the bricks to spin and shift, creating an archway for them to pass through into Diagon Alley. The shinobi looked on in awe as the arch opened itself, stabilizing into a perfect doorway. "I take it from the looks on your faces that you approve?" Lupin asked, smiling as he observed their expressions, and then leading the way into the crowded cobblestone street. Lupin's heels clicked on the smooth stone underfoot contrasting with the shinobi's soundless steps as they gazed, goggle-eyed at practically everything they saw. Naruto seemed especially interested in the loud and raucous goings on at Gambol and Japes joke store. Sakura was definitely interested in seeing the inside of Flourish and Blotts, which Lupin assured her they would be visiting in order to purchase their textbooks. However, the one store that caught everyone's attention was Quality Quidditch Supplies. Even Kurenai was entranced by the idea of a flying broom, along with Tenten and Temari.

"I would love to be able to do that!" Tenten enthused, "Just fly soundlessly through the air and bombard my targets with kunai and senbon from above. I'd have the highest mission success rate ever!" she glowed, staring at the broom through the window with a look akin to lust. Once again, Lupin was forced to remind himself that they weren't just students, but trained professional killers.

"Seems like sitting on something hard like that would kinda damage my junk…," Kankurou observed, at which Lupin once again rethought his opinion. Killers, yes, but still teenagers.

"Kankurou, when we get home, I will _pay you_ to never mention your 'junk' again while I'm around," Temari groaned, resting her forehead against the heel of her palm in exasperation as they left the window of the quidditch emporium. Finally, they reached the center of the street and approached the somewhat crooked marble edifice of Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

"This is Gringotts Wizarding Bank," Lupin said, nodding his head to indicate the large building behind him. "Gringotts is the center of wizarding finance, and as you can see, it is run by goblins," he said, inclining his neck to draw their attention to the squat, gnarled beings standing outside the door. "Though you'll certainly learn more about them through our lessons and at Hogwarts, for now it is suffice to say that goblins are cagey, shrewd, and keen enough to spot a moneymaking opportunity from leagues away," he intoned. "Never enter into a deal with a goblin unless you're just as deft as they are when it comes to negotiating terms," Remus expounded, the small smile on his face contrasting with the seriousness of his tone of voice. Having finished speaking, Remus beckoned for the gaggle of shinobi to follow him into Gringott's. He nodded to the two goblins standing outside acting as door wardens for the bank, resplendent in their red and gold uniforms. Sakura noticed an inscription engraved on one of the bronze panels on the door. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear and began to read aloud.

"'_Enter, stranger but take heed; Of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take, but do not earn; Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek, beneath these floors, a treasure that was never yours; Thief, you have been warned, beware; Of finding more than treasure there.'" _Sakura looked at the goblins cautiously as they turned to look at her with dark, pointed smiles, pulling the bronze doors open, while a second pair of goblins opened a pair of silver inner doors, embossed with scenes from goblin history, depicted in silver and gold bas-relief. Once they passed through the inner doors, the group entered the lobby of the bank. The shoes of Lupin and his party clapped along the polished marble floors, the goblins behind the long, high counters consumed by their scrupulous counting of the various Sickles, Galleons, and Knuts that littered their desks, the amounts of which were laid out meticulously in their ledgers. The Konoha nin were impressed by the space, taking in the details of the chandeliers, of the goblins themselves who occasionally shot furtive glances at them from their elevated desks, and of the magical symbols inlaid in the marble floor. Sakura made a mental note to ask Lupin what exactly they meant once the group left the bank. After a few minutes, they reached the front desk, another high counter, but this time rounded with the inside secured by a cage. The goblin behind the desk was so absorbed in his work that he failed to notice Lupin standing in front of him for a good five minutes until Remus cleared his throat. Sighing, and with deliberate and near antagonistic slowness, the goblin brushed the nib of his quill pen off the inside of the ink jar, set the pen down and moved his work to the side before folding his hands in front of him and looking at Remus down the arch of his long nose through his pince-nez spectacles.

"I am the goblin Argrok. How may I help you?" the goblin intoned in a deep voice, smiling as politely as possible, showing most of his sharpened teeth. Remus reached into his old overcoat and fished around his inner pocket for the vault key Dumbledore had given him. Finally, his fingers seized it and he pulled out the golden key, laying it on the desk in front of the goblin.

"I am here on the authority of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore to withdraw funds from the Hogwarts Student Need Fund. Those who have accompanied me are foreign transfer students from Japan due to enter Hogwarts this coming term," he explained, stepping back and gesturing to the assembled nin. The goblin gave them a look that was halfway between a smirk and sneer, but most decidedly contemptuous.

"Oh, so you're _that_ group," Argrok chuckled. "Dumbledore sent me a letter via phoenix, and told me that you lot might be in today. He also told me about your circumstances," he continued, giving a harsh, guttural chuckle. Argrok snapped his fingers and waved over another goblin. "Bogrod! Take these people down to Vault 799," he commanded. Bogrod nodded, pushing his glasses a bit farther up his nose and leading the group through a door behind the front counter. They descended a winding staircase lit by mounted torches and the bright lantern Bogrod carried, held above his head. A short while later, they arrived at a platform that hung over the lip of a vast cavern, descending into untold darkness, lit sporadically by torchlight. The whole place was damp and cold, thanks to a thundering waterfall on the far left cave wall, plunging down into the darkened depths, the roar of the impact of the water against the cave bottom echoing throughout the place. Bogrod's lantern reflected dully off two iron rails set into the bottom of the platform. Sakura edged closer and looked over the platform's end to see that the tracks continued on into the deep, realizing that this was the beginning of a massive track system. Bogrod tapped Sakura on the shoulder, gesturing for her to move back as he grasped an iron brake lever and pulled it towards him. She saw the glow of the cart's headlight and stepped back from the tracks as the cart coasted to a perfect stop in front of them. Bogrod reached out and placed the palm of his hand on the side of the cart, causing the metal to shift, the side edges morphing into hinges, and a straight line forming down the middle until the side of the cart had turned into a double door, allowing the group to enter the cart. The cart also seemed to expand in length as everyone piled in, giving them room to sit comfortably. Once everyone was in, the cart shut and resealed itself into a solid piece. Bogrod released the cart's brake and they started down the rails at a furious speed. Remus seemed unfazed by the experience, but unfortunately, some of the Konoha shinobi were not quite as lucky. Kurenai, Shikamaru, and Lee disembarked the cart holding their spinning heads. Naruto stood ready to pounce on Lee in case the dizziness sparked another case of Drunken Fist while Sakura did her best to keep her breakfast on the inside. Shikamaru leaned against the wall and fished out his pack of smokes, pulling one from his pack and placing the butt to his lips.

"At least the nicotine'll help my nerves... Fuck, this day's been a pain." he groaned internally, striking a match and holding the flame to the tip of the cigarette. He took a long inhale and let out an equally long exhale. Unfortunately for him, nausea and cigarettes do not mix, and he immediately found himself doubled over, vomiting and hacking. Disgusted, he shakily rose to his feet and looked at Kurenai. "What the hell did Asuma-sensei ever see in these things?" he shouted at her. Kurenai just looked at him sympathetically, and gave a light shrug.

"He often said they calmed his nerves, but on the other hand, he said that Tsunade told him that each one takes eleven minutes off his life, so he was actually planning on quitting. Perhaps you should consider quitting early, seeing as how there's no smoking at Hogwarts," she finished, pushing herself from the wall as Shikamaru looked at his cigarette before putting it out on the bottom of his shoe. His fingers were poised to flick the butt down at the loose rock floor before Bogrod's voice cut in.

"Stick that cigarette in your pocket, else I shove it down your throat, boy," Bogrod growled, fixing Shikamaru with a baleful glare before turning back around to the door. "Honestly, just because you wield a wand doesn't mean you can trample upon other races and disrespect their places of business," he scolded Shikamaru, who was fairly taken aback by the tone of Bogrod's voice.

"Y-you're right. I was unintentionally rude, and I'm sorry," Shikamaru replied, bowing at the waist to Bogrod, who turned around to accept the apology, and was rather at a loss at seeing him bow. Bogrod scrutinized Shikamaru for a few moments before nodding his head slowly and responding.

"Apology accepted, young man...," Bogrod then turned back around and held his hand out for Remus' key to the vault. Remus placed it in the goblin's hand and stood back as Bogrod fit the key in the lock, turning it. The door rumbled from within, the sounds of pins, tumblers, and gears whirling in their perfect places in the mechanism stirring from within. With a final loud clack, the bolt withdrew into the door and it swung open, revealing the soft glow of the gold, silver, and bronze coins. Remus strode into the vault and pulled out the same bottomless pouch that held the shinobi's cover papers when they first arrived yesterday. He reached into the pouch and pulled out a series of supply lists, one for each of the nin behind him. He scanned the lists quickly and estimated the costs of everything they'd need, then took the necessary amount of coins and loaded them into the pouch. Once finished, he exited the vault with Bogrod alongside him. The goblin closed the vault and returned the key to Remus, who nodded politely.

"Now for the ride back up," Remus declared in a falsely enthusiastic tone, causing Bogrod to snort as he opened the cart for the group to pile back in before it magically levitated itself to reverse its direction. Bogrod released the brake lever and the cart hurled itself along the tracks at breakneck speed, roaring up the tracks, ascending back up to the surface so quickly that almost everyone's ears popped from the sudden shift in pressure. Though the trip only lasted about 10 minutes, the group was certainly thankful to exit the cart and head back out into the main Gringott's lobby. Once everyone was in the lobby, Bogrod bowed to the group and gestured towards the door.

"Gringotts thanks you for your patronage today," he said politely, giving another fearsome smile that displayed his teeth. Remus nodded and gave a polite smile before ushering the group of Konoha shinobi outside, following them soon after. Once they had left, Bogrod returned to Argrok's side.

"I don't like the smell of this," Bogrod stated, looking at Argrok, then at the door Remus and his group had just exited through. "I feel Dumbledore has not explained the fullness of their...'circumstances'," he added, to which Argrok nodded.

"Nor I," he replied. "...Nor I."

Once everyone was outside, breathing the freer air outside Gringotts, Remus turned to the group and pulled one of the lists from the pouch. He briefly read the list again and nodded before speaking to his assembled party. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen we have the necessary funds, so now we can begin buying our supplies. We'll hold off on the uniforms until you pass the Ministry exam. Granted, I have faith that you'll all pass the exam, but there's no point in putting the cart before the horse. Instead, we'll start at Flourish and Blotts for your textbooks," he said, causing Sakura to rub her hands together happily. He escorted the group down the street into the book store. Flourish and Blotts was as crowded as ever, with hardly room to move in the cramped space with books were piled to the ceiling. Remus walked up to a shop assistant and showed him the list of books his group needed. Kankurou was certain he saw the assistant turn five different shades of pale in under three minutes, but his musings were cut short when he suddenly pitched forward as a heavy weight seized the backs of his legs, slamming him down hard onto the floor.

"Damn it!" Kankurou shouted, pushing himself up with his hands, turning his head as far as he could to see whoever had knocked him down. Surprisingly, Naruto wasn't at the scene of the crime, nor Lee. They were both absorbed in a book on magical dueling. Instead, the culprit turned out to be Lupin himself, whose robes had caught on the pointed end of a hardcover book, pulling it out of its place in the makeshift book tower and causing it to become unbalanced and topple onto Kankurou. Quickly, Lupin moved to help Kankurou by drawing his wand and pointing it at the books.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Lupin called out, waving his wand and moving the books up into the air while everyone in the store watched him shift and restack the books, dispelling the levitation once everything was back in order. Kankurou heaved himself up from the floor and dusted himself off.

"Thanks for that," he commented, looking at Lupin flatly. Remus inclined his head slightly, though apologetically.

"My apologies," Lupin replied, turning back around to try and find the associate he'd caught hold of earlier. A startled shout echoed from densest part of the throng, and a wooden cart came hurtling out of the stockroom, barreling through the store and knocking people and books in every direction. Naruto jumped on it to try and wrestle it down, but the cart shrugged off the attack, dragging Naruto behind it while doing its very best to swing him off. Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the store, and Rock Lee pounced onto the cart from the second floor of the store, driving his heel into the cart and smashing it to pieces. Naruto covered his face and eyes from the flying splinters and slowly picked himself off the floor. He looked at the remains of the cart, then back at Lee.

"Too much?" Lee asked Naruto, who then looked back at the cart, then back at Lee, then back at the cart again. Lupin, however was scanning the crowd, all of whom were looking at the two boys with either shock, wonder, or nervous apprehension. In Lupin's estimation, this wasn't a good situation for them to be in. He gently put his hands on Naruto's and Lee's shoulders, nodding to Kurenai, who indicated to the door with a slight nod.

"Let's get going," he said as genially as possible. "We can come back for the books another time," he finished, ushering the two boys towards the street. Another voice filled the room, fixing them in position.

"You lot, stay right where you are," the voice said, as Lupin turned to see the speaker. The voice belonged to a short, stocky man in ochre robes, with black hair and brown eyes. He had a cigar planted firmly in his mouth, exhaling clouds of blue smoke as he strode up to Lupin and his company. "Well, who was it? Which one of you killed Seventeen?" he asked, to which Lee meekly raised his hand. The man looked Lee up and down appraisingly. The shinobi and assorted patrons held their collective breaths as they waited for the man to react.  
"Thank you, boy! My name's Hardwicke, and I'm the man who manages this bedlam," The shinobi all let out a sigh of relief at Hardwicke's words. "Seventeen's been off its nut for the past twelve years. Some third year got his hands on an advanced book and shot an Animus spell at it. I was just a day leader back then. Seventeen just went off and broke my right leg. Kept it chained in the basement ever since, we have. Merlin knows how it got out," he finished, sighing and mopping his brow with a handkerchief. "Oh, anyways, never mind my mouth running off a mile a minute. I'm inclined to offer you and your lot a discount for all your purchases today in the store for your services," Hardwicke finished, to which Lupin smiled in relief.

"That's most kind of you, Mr. Hardwicke. We'll take every Sickle we can save. We, or I, more to the point, gave our list to one of your associates, and we've not seen him since," he answered. Hardwicke chewed the end of his cigar in consternation and looked around the store. Seeing all the salespersons except one, Hardwicke nodded to Lupin.

"Must be Higgins. It's his first day on. I'll go in the back and see if I can find him," Hardwicke answered and disapparated with a popping noise. Seconds later, he apparated back in front of them. "Well, I found Higgins. He was unconscious in the back. Apparently I neglected to tell him about Seventeen," he said, sounding a tinge embarrassed and regretful. "But, I've revived him and he seems to be doing all right. I've told him to take a breather in my office, so I'll be handling your order from now on," Hardwicke finished. Lupin nodded at the information, then reiterated his list to Hardwicke, who nodded and grabbed a cart from one of the other associates. Hardwicke proceeded to move throughout the store at high speed, using his wand to flick books off the shelves and out of the stacks into the cart, piling them neatly as he did so. In less than 25 minutes, all the necessary books were wheeled up to the front desk. Hardwicke puffed on his cigar as he calculated the price, ringing it up on the huge brass register. "Standard price for all these books would be sixty-seven galleons and eight knuts. However, with your good-will discount, I'll give you the lot for thirty-five galleons, two sickles," the stocky manager informed. Remus gave the man a gracious smile and nodded.

"Excellent. Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Hardwicke," Lupin said, giving a slight bow and reaching into the pouch for the appropriate coins, laying them on the desk in front of Hardwicke with a loud clink. Hardwicke quickly counted them and swept them into the drawer with his beefy arm.

"And Flourish and Blott's thanks you for your patronage," he replied, as Kurenai led the shinobi back outside into the street while Lupin tucked the books into the pouch. Once finished, Remus emerged on the street with everyone else. Giving his cheeriest smile, he ushered the group down the street.

"Come on then, much more to buy," he said, leading them into the next store, a dingy cauldron shop which no one wanted to really step into. "Oh, go on," Remus said. "You lot are going to need these if you want to pass the Ministry exam and get into Hogwarts," he informed them before stepping inside on his own, coming out several minutes later, having purchased the cauldrons and arranging to have them delivered to the Leaky Cauldron. They followed that purchase by then going to the equally dismal Slug and Jiggers, where Remus guided them through purchasing potion ingredients, most of which baffled or disgusted the shinobi, especially Naruto, who found himself up to his elbows in toad eyeballs, searching for the missing scoop, sunk all the way down to the bottom of the barrel. Once Naruto had gathered the required amount, he withdrew his arm, now coated in viscous, greyish-green gunk that clung to his arm all the way up to the middle of his bicep, thoroughly staining the rolled up sleeve of his jacket.

"Gross...," he whined, scrunching up his face in disgust, silently apologizing to Gamabunta and his relatives. He shook his hand off once they left the store, the slime flying off his hand and splattering the stones on the street. Sakura, who was standing closest, took a step back to avoid being sprayed. Remus stepped up to Naruto and drew his wand, pointing it at Naruto's arm.

"Scourgify," Remus commanded, vanishing the slimy residue from Naruto's jacket and arm. Naruto whistled appreciatively, looking his arm up and down.

"Awesome!" Naruto declared, grinning widely and showing his now cleaned arm off to everyone. "That even got the stuff out from under my fingernails!" he enthused. "Yosh! I gotta remember that one, Hinata-chan," he said, looking to his girlfriend with renewed enthusiasm.

"One of the more useful spells I've found," Remus informed, ushering the group into its second to last store: Magical Menagerie. The cadre entered the brightly lit, airy store, looking around entranced at the collection of strange and bizarre creatures alongside the more normal selections. "Now, Hogwarts does allow its students to bring with them certain animals. Namely, owls, cats, and toads. However, some people have chosen to keep rats instead, but please keep in mind, that this is an option, not a requirement. You do not need to have one, but if you do, please bear in mind that you will be responsible for its maintenance," he finished, allowing them to browse if they so wished. Shikamaru declined, citing that the care of another creature was a pain in the ass, and not worth the trouble. Temari simply rolled her eyes at this, and continued examining the owl cages. Naruto had already selected a large, indolent looking bullfrog that seemed content to merely look impassively at its surroundings. Sakura decided to claim a medium sized grey barn owl with yellow eyes and a deep bass hoot that ruffled its chest feathers. Hinata chose a sleek black Persian cat with green eyes. It took to her quickly, nuzzling its head into her hand after the first couple of strokes. Temari and Kankurou decided to share a large tawny owl with wide brown eyes. Unlike Sakura's owl, this one was restless, constantly moving from side to side on its perch. Kurenai and Lee both declined to purchase an animal of their own. Tenten looked from one cage to another, trying to find an animal that would suit her, and eventually decided on a horned owl with brown and black mottled feathers that was currently sleeping in its cage. With their animals in hand, the crowd moved to their final, and most important stop: Ollivander's Fine Wands.

Outside the store, Lupin turned and addressed the flock.

"This will be our final stop of the day. Here is where you'll purchase your wands. Your wand will be selected for you by Ollivander himself. He has selected wands for generations of Hogwarts students, including myself. As for why you get the wand you do...well, Ollivander will be able to explain it better than I. How you intend to control your...'chakra'," he said, pausing slightly as if trying to comprehend exactly what chakra was, "...to approximate something resembling wizarding energy, is up to you. After this, we'll return to the Cauldron and grab something to eat before beginning your training," he finished. His comment about chakra seemed to give the Konoha nin a moment of pause, causing them to consider exactly how to accomplish that task. Shikamaru spoke first, looking down at the ground and scuffling his sandals against the cobblestone, his brows furrowed in concentration, examining his own idea.

"I remember back in Konoha, before we left, how Hinata described what she saw while scanning Dumbledore with her Byakugan," he said, looking back up at the crowd. "Hinata, you said that it looked like Dumbledore possessed only human chakra, and used the wand to draw on both plant and animal chakras to complete his jutsus, right?" he asked, looking over to Hinata for confirmation. She nodded and Shikamaru continued with his theory. "Therefore, I think it ought to be possible for us to draw only onto our own personal chakras, and use the wands to complete the necessary spells. But, it will take a great deal of chakra control to pull off. Naruto, you might have a problem in that area. Your jutsus are either too weak until you learn them properly, or too much to handle until you learn to manage them," Shikamaru stated, holding up his hand to silence Naruto's inevitable retort. "This shouldn't be a problem for Lee, as he's only coming as Kurenai-sensei's teaching assistant," to which Lee glumly nodded. Shikamaru offered a sympathetic shrug and sighed. "Sorry to drop the hammer, but that's just how it is on this one," he said quietly, as Lee received a gentle shoulder squeeze from Tenten. There was a slight ring in the air from the bell attached to the door of Ollivander's as Lupin pulled it open for the shinobi to enter.

"If you're all ready then," he said, stepping aside to allow them in. They looked around at the dark, dusty store, illuminated by a few bare candles and the large bay window facing the street, allowing whatever sunlight the cramped alley walls would permit to enter. The store's counter was littered with scraps of paper, feathers, and piled with dust. Rows upon rows of shelves, with boxes stacked haphazardly filled the majority of the store beyond the sales counter. The store was completely silent. Nothing moved within its walls. Even the specks of dust that drifted within the beams of light coming in through the window seemed fixed in place. Not just silent, but still, the sort of stillness that just hung in the air, blocking out any other sound; almost as if the silence was actively trying to impose itself upon them, daring anyone to speak loudly enough to overcome it. After a few moments, Hinata did speak, calling out to see if there was actually anyone in the store with them.

"Um, h-hello?" she queried, inwardly cursing herself and her surroundings for causing the sudden return of her stammer. A clatter was heard deep in the heart of the store, beyond their view of the farthest shelves. The sound grew louder until the source was revealed to them: a tall man, with spindly limbs and a shock of stark white hair upon his head, wearing finely detailed red wizard robes, was hanging onto an old wooden rolling ladder. The man descended the ladder, greeting them with a polite bow.

"Greetings, and welcome to Ollivander's. I am Mr. Ollivander. You all look a bit old for first years...," he commented, examining them with his piercing eyes, eyes that held a strange inner light that unsettled some of the shinobi. Ollivander's eyes then settled on Remus, and his gaze brightened considerably. "Ah, Remus Lupin. Now, you, and your wand, I remember quite clearly," he said, striding over to Remus and holding his hand out wordlessly. With a small smile, Lupin handed his wand to the elder wizard. "Ah, yes. Maple, eight and a half inches, dragon heartstring, excellent for transfiguration and defense," Kankurou watched the exchange and looked back at Ollivander once he had given Remus his wand back.

"You can tell all that just by holding his wand?" Kankurou asked, looking a little perplexed.

"I hardly need to touch it to know it," Ollivander replied. "I remember every single wand I've ever sold. And I've been around for quite a long time," he finished, enjoying Kankurou's stunned look before picking up his earlier thread. "But, yes, you all do look rather large for first years. Did something happen to your wands?" he asked. Kurenai stepped in before Lupin had the chance to speak up.

"Yes, Ollivander-san, we do. My students and I are here as part of a special international exchange programme between our school and Hogwarts. However, your Ministry did not feel our wands were of reliable quality, and were seized upon entrance to your country. Therefore we are in need of new wands if we are to participate in this programme," she explained, bowing deeply. Ollivander looked from Kurenai to Lupin, who nodded his assent. Ollivander threw up his hands and shook his head in disappointment.

"Merlin's beard! Spare me the Ministry and its political bollocks. No wonder international magical relations are in such a sorry state. It'll be a miracle if England ever hosts the Quidditch World Cup again. First Death Eaters, now this," he groaned. Well, alright then, let's get started," he said, looking over the crowd and picking out the first of the shinobi. "Oi, young miss. The one with the pink hair in the back," he said, pointing at Sakura, who stepped forward to the desk. "Which is you dominant arm?" he asked, causing Sakura to hold out her right arm. With previous customers, Ollivander would have taken the time to precisely measure their arm length, hand width, and other factors using a magical spool of measuring tape. Unfortunately, the tape had a mind of its own and had been sued for sexual harassment for measuring a female customer in a rather personal place, which resulted in the tape being put down in a humane manner. Presently, Ollivander just asked for their preferred wand arm, and headed into the back to find the right wand for its future owner. Currently, Ollivander was doing just that, searching through the massive stacks of boxes, emerging several minutes later. "I believe you might like this one," he started, opening the box and pulling out a wand of medium length. "Beech, six inches, rather firm, with a core of unicorn tail." he stated, stepping back. "Give it a good swish and see how it works for you," he instructed, taking another step back. Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled, concentrating on manipulating her chakra as she waved the wand. Nothing. She glared at the wand and once more, tried to control her chakra, waving the wand again, suddenly causing a bright flash of energy to blow out the front windows of Ollivander's shop. She hurriedly set the wand down on the desk, and Ollivander snatched it up quickly, looking at her in shock. "Quite a lot of 'oomph' in that one..." he commented, setting that wand back in its box and hurrying back to the shelves. She looked around guiltily at everyone, mouthing "Sorry!" to Kurenai and Lupin, the former of which was giving her a hard stare, and the latter appeared torn between amusement and surprise. Ollivander came back a few minutes later with another box, opening it for her. "Willow, eight and three-quarter inches, springy, unicorn tail. Good for healing and defense," he said, handing her the wand and taking refuge in the depths of one of his aisles. Sakura took the wand, and instantly felt a burst of inner energy that traveled up her arm and into her core, causing her to gasp and shudder as the wand's energy connected with hers. Lupin smiled as Sakura reacted to hew new wand.

"One down, eight to go" he said, walking over to her as Ollivander emerged from the unkempt rear of his store.

"What is your name?" he asked, looking her directly in the eye, holding his hand out for her wand, which she reluctantly relinquished, already feeling like she was letting go of a part of herself. It was odd, she realized, that she should feel that way when she's only been holding onto the wand for five minutes. Her green eyes tracked the movements of old man Ollivander's hand warily, noting that he'd asked her a question, but still caring more about the wand than his question. Lupin's throat clearing snapped her out of her trance, however, and she straightened up, slightly embarrassed about her actions.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," she answered, looking him directly in the eye as Ollivander boxed and set her wand aside. He nodded and smiled at her, tapping his left temple gently.

"I'll remember that name," he said, gesturing for Sakura to step aside so he could assist the next customer, who turned out to be Shikamaru. The lethargic shinobi raised his right hand, sparing himself the effort of bothering to answer the old wandmaker's question. Ollivander sighed and nodded, heading back into the shelves, emerging again with two boxes. He opened the first and handed it to Shikamaru. "Maple, thirteen and a half inches, somewhat flexible, dragon heartstring," he said, taking a step back as Shikamaru waved it, causing one of Ollivander's old ledgers to fly off the desk and nearly hit Lee, who caught it deftly in one hand, giving Shika a bright thumbs-up. Shikamaru sighed and sat the wand back in its box, taking the other one out. "Birch, six inches, rigid, unicorn tail," Ollivander stated, allowing Shika another wave, which also fizzled out. Shikamaru went through eight more wands before finding the perfect one. Elm, eleven inches, firm, dragon heartstring. After him, Hinata stepped up, going through four wands before finding hers. Beech, seven inches, whippy, unicorn tail. Then, it was Kankurou's turn, and six wands later, he came upon his. Maple, ten inches, rigid, unicorn tail. Tenten followed, bringing three wands to bear before discovering hers. Pine, seven and a half inches, flexible, dragon heartstring. Temari came up after, proceeding through nine wand selections until she found the one that connected with her. Aspen, ten and a quarter inches, firm, dragon heartstring. Lee stepped up next, the most nervous of the bunch despite the exuberance he showed. Kurenai shared his apprehension, especially considering that Lee had almost no chakra to provide. The Genius of Hard Work stepped up the counter, trying to keep his hands from shaking by clenching them into hard fists. As the ancient wandmaker stepped into his shelves, Lee stomped his heel on the floor, swallowing his nervousness and forcing up his resolve to face this new challenge. Upon Ollivander's return, Lee took the proffered wand from its box. He held it in his hand, looking it over curiously before giving it a short, sharp flick. A jet of water blasted forth from the tip of the wand, drenching the counter and nearly Ollivander himself, who drew his own wand at nearly imperceptible speed, casting a shield charm that kept him mostly dry. "I think not...," Ollivander said dryly, heading back to gather more wands. As soon as the old man left, Kurenai stepped forward and grabbed Lee by the shoulder, spinning him around to face her forcefully.

"How did you do that?" she demanded, her voice barely above a whisper, locking her red eyes with his. Lee just shook his head, looking as nonplussed as everyone else there. Lupin was simply watching, leaning against the wall near the door, his gaze fixed and focused on Lee.

"I-I honestly don't know, Kurenai-sensei," he replied, looking down at the wand in his hand. "I just remembered hearing what Hinata said about focusing, and did that...and it just happened," he finished, looking back up at Kurenai.

"But you can't even generate chakra, Lee-kun," Kurenai stated, to which Lee nodded, still looking somewhat bewildered.

"I know," he replied, "And I knew it would be a long shot, but... I wanted to try anyway," he answered, looking down at the floor. Kurenai sighed and nodded.

"It's alright, Lee-kun. It's just...surprising, is all. We never thought you could do anything like that," she said, sighing again and letting go of him. By that time, Ollivander had returned with more wands, casting suspicious looks at the group. Lee hurriedly walked over to the desk and sat the first wand back down, taking up the next one, which emitted a black cloud that smelled of rotten eggs. Fifteen wands later, Lee found his wand. Elm, six and three-quarter inches, rigid, with dragon heartstring. Naruto was the second to last person to select his wand. He grinned as he walked up to the desk, full of his usual swagger and confidence. His bright blue eyes locked onto Ollivander's as he stuck out his hand for his wand.

"Lay it on me, old man!" he said enthusiastically, anxiously waiting for his chance to do something cool. Ollivander raised his eyebrow and walked back into the shadowy depths of his store, coming back out with no less than six boxes. Luckily, Naruto only needed four. The first three were disasters. The first one spit out a stream of indefinable muck, the second vomited out a spray of rock and hot ash, and the third shattered Ollivander's windows...again. The fourth wand was made of Cypress, twelve and three-quarter inches, rigid, with dragon heartstring. Naruto happily went back to the crowd, giving Lee a high five. Lee returned the gesture, adding his best Good Guy Smile. Finally, Kurenai moved towards the high desk as Ollivander scurried into the back of the shop, picking out a selection of wands for her to sample. While he was gone, Kurenai visually scanned the messy desk, idly picking up stray feathers and blowing them, watching them drift away. Her eyes lit on a wand laying on the desk several inches away from her hand. She reached out for it and picked it up, instantly receiving the same jolt that everyone else had. She gasped at the warm feeling running through her veins and stared at the powerful piece of wood just as Ollivander emerged. He looked at her, and at the wand she held.

"Where did you get that wand?" he asked, stepping over to her cautiously. Stray wands could sometimes be dangerous, and were best treated with a wary eye. Kurenai pointed to the spot on the desk where it previously lay.

"It was just there on the desk," she said, pointing with her free hand. Ollivander reached out and touched the place on the desk she indicated. He closed his eyes and after a few moments, let out a sigh of relief.

"No harm done, then," he replied, reaching out his hand to take the wand, laying it back in its appropriate box. "This is one of the wands I retrieved for young master Kankurou," he informed her, smiling softly. "But if it has chosen you, it is yours," he finished, stacking it alongside the boxes of all the wands that belonged to the various shinobi. The old craftsman turned to face Lupin at last. "And who will bear the cost of these?" he asked, to which Remus moved from his post by the window, having given it a quick Reparo, and now walking over to Ollivander's desk.

"The cost will be covered by the Hogwarts Student Need Fund," Lupin informed the old man, who nodded and set about hastily scribbling tags that magically floated over and attached themselves to the boxes of each individual ninja. Lastly, Ollivander drew up a receipt and handed it to Lupin, who stuck his hand into his bottomless pouch and summoned the necessary coinage to remit payment. Once the purchase was completed, they left the store, now actively talking amongst themselves in excitement about the next six weeks and the future of the mission. Kurenai and Lupin hung behind as the crowd proceeded through Diagon Alley.

"Well," he started, "they're a bit older than I was when I first picked up a wand, but I certainly do understand their enthusiasm," he said, smiling tiredly. "It's one of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher. Despite all that's happened to me as a wizard, I never wanted to lose that feeling," he finished quietly. "I suppose that only makes me sound like an old man who's never quite found it in himself to give up that last bit of idealism," he said, shrugging his shoulders, looking tired and forlorn. Kurenai took in his words, listening silently as she walked by his side. After a long pause, she spoke quietly.

"I think the reason your students respect and admire you is because you never lost that idealism, that hope of yours. A teacher must love the subject he teaches, and desire to impart that love to his students, even if you stumble at times. As long as you give your maximum effort, your feelings will certainly reach them," she answered. He chuckled softly and nodded his head, sighing.

"I can only hope," he answered, moving to the front of the crowd as they neared the Leaky Cauldron. "Alright, alright. Budge up and let me through," he said, standing in front of the collection of nin and drawing his wand, tapping it against the bricks again and re-opening the door they had passed through previously. Slowly, they all filed through, quietly entering the pub through the back door. Once inside, Lupin faced them all again. "Your supplies should all be in your rooms. Please, read and review your textbooks for tomorrow's lesson, but do not attempt any spells. I will supervise all your wand work for the next few days. Any disobedience in this regard will get you sent straight back to Konoha," he declared in his sternest tone of voice, making eye contact with each member of the team. "Finally, dinner will be served in about...," he paused to check his watch briefly. "Half an hour," he stated before continuing. "You can either have dinner down here, or have it sent to your room if you prefer to get an early start on your textbooks," Remus looked at the group, smiling beneath his droopy mustache. "You've had a busy day, rest now, and prepare for tomorrow. That's when the hard work begins. I have one week, minus one day, to cram over nine months of learning into your heads. I wish we had more time, but we don't, so please, all of you...do your best. And I will try to do mine. Dismissed," he completed, turning around and heading up the stairs. The group slowly filed up behind him, dispersing to their individual rooms. Shikamaru entered his room and spotted the stack of books on his bed, along with his wand, still in its box. His cauldron and potion supplies sat on a desk on the far side of the room, just to the right of the window. He slumped onto the bed and cracked open his Transfiguration textbook, groaning at the unintelligible lines of theories and spells.

"Troublesome...," he sighed, closing the book and moving the whole stack onto the chair in front of the desk before flopping down onto the bed and promptly passing out.. Similar scenes were unfolding in the other rooms. Sakura entered hers to find much the same arrangement, with the exception that there was a large owl cage sitting on an end table set directly below the window. The cage had already been set, with newspaper on the bottom, and the water and food dishes already filled. The same had occurred in Hinata's room, with her cat's needs already tended to, and the cat itself lazily sprawling on her bed. Hinata giggled and sat on the bed next to the cat, stroking it under its chin, causing it to purr contentedly. Lee sat on the bed in his room in silent contemplation, looking at his wand in his hand. He felt simultaneously confused, elated, and terrified. "Why now?" he wondered silently, confused as to how he had suddenly acquired the ability to perform something other than his usual taijutsu. It was unsettling. However, his reverie was broken by Naruto, banging on the door the same way he did with Shikamaru earlier.

"Yo, Lee! Dinnertime, man! I'm gonna see if they have ramen!" Naruto declared, his footsteps pounding their way towards the staircase. Lee chuckled and set his wand aside, deciding to resolve his curiosities at a later date, especially after dinner, he amended as his stomach growled loudly, causing him to blush slightly and place his hand over his abdomen. After all, tomorrow was tomorrow. And tomorrow could wait.

* * *

Author's Note: Oh dear Lord, how long it's been. I am so sorry for such a tremendously long delay. Work, school, and monstrous writer's block have kept me from continuing as I should have. I deeply apologize for this, and hope this chapter goes towards amending my criminally long absence. I'd like to thank my beta reader, Hime Temari, and all of you who read and review my story. Seriously, I can't pull this off without you all, so please keep the constructive comments coming. Chapter six is coming, and a hell of a lot faster than this one.

Next Chapter: Wizarding 101 Part Two


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